Blood In The Air
by True Ink
Summary: Set after season 3. Eric, who always has been the predetor, is suddenly the prey. Will Sookie be able to look past their tangled history now when he is the one in need of help? Rated M for violence in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Author note: My very first fanfic, set after season three, but with a few changes. Sookie hasn't gone to fairy land, and Tara hasn't left town. Also, Eric might seem slightly OOC it this chapter, but let's agree on that it's something Sookie brings out of him. Rated M for violence in later chapters.**

**P.S English isn't my first language (sadly) so I apologize for any language-butchering. **

**Disclaimer: I doesn't matter how much I want to, I own nothing.**

Chapter 1

"So, that's settled then," Sofie-Ann's voice finished off on the other side of the line. "You will look in to this tonight." Eric sighed at her impatience. "I will look in to it as soon as can." The queen just laughed. "Which is tonight. I hate the idea of having a werewolf pack running around in my area." He realized there was no point in disagreeing, Sofie-Ann was after all, his queen, and he had to obey her whether he liked it or not. "Okay, tonight then," Eric said and could almost_ hear_ the queen smirk. "Well that's great. Let me hear the news later then." And she hung up.

Eric sighed deeply as he rubbed his face before slowly rising from his desk. He wasn't in the mood for this. In fact, he wasn't in the mood for anything at all. It had been a month since he last saw Sookie, and then only for the brief moment when he had crushed her relationship with Bill. He didn't regret it, Bill didn't deserve her. It wasn't something he would ever admit, but it was also one last attempt to get her. To be with her. That was all he really wanted, to be with her, to be near her. It had been a pathetic, desperate attempt. He didn't do pathetic and desperate, and he hated that she had that effect on him. That she could, just by not being reachable for him, cause him to barely sleep or eat. Cause him to cry… He felt a strange ache in his body, an anguish longing for hearing her voice, feeling her skin, her scent. A stubborn blood tear seeped slowly down his cheek and he wiped it off with an angry movement. No, he wouldn't cry, not again.

"You are fucking pathetic Northman,"Eric mumbled to himself as he walked out of his office, hoping not to bump into Pam. She worried, he could see that. He knew she did, the concerned glances when she thought he wasn't looking, told him that. Not that he would ever show deliberately how he felt, but hiding things from her seemed to be impossible. "Where are you going?" He had almost reached the door when Pam's voice made him stop. Oh that's just perfect. "We are opening in like two hours," she continued.

Eric sighed and turned around to meet Pam's questioning face. "The queen just called," He hoped that his voice didn't sound as tired as he felt. "Something about a werewolf pack creeping around in the woods a few of miles from here." Her eyebrows raised in a skeptical frown. "Yes? And?" She sounded annoyed.

"Probably just a rumor, but she wanted me to look in to it." "Tonight." He added as Pam's expression still didn't change. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Pam sighed frustrated. "That fucking…" She folded her arms together and in a demonstrative motion. "She just enjoys bossing you around." Eric chuckled slightly as he walked towards the door and opened it. "Well I'm here to be bossed around." And with that, he disappeared out in the night

Pam watched the door close and her expression changed from annoyance to concern. Eric hadn't slept, there were small residues of blood in his ears and she felt her heart ache as she thought of how exhausted he looked. Fuck! She hated Sookie for causing her maker so much pain. Pam wanted to just go to Sookie and _force_ her to talk to him. To forgive him for whatever it was that he had done to displease the little oversensitive human. Eric would never do it himself, he refused to even talk about her. He was acting like his normal, stoic self whenever anyone else was around, but she saw, she felt, how he suffered. It was getting worse and worse. He barely ate, and yesterday, when she went to see him in his office, she could have sworn that his eyes had been bloodshot. Eric had been crying, and Pam realized that she needed to do something, anything to help him. Weather it was following him around, nagging on him until he opened up, or simply go to Sookie and drag her to Fangtasia, forcing the stubborn idiots to talk to each other.

Eric set of to the given area, and after flying for minutes, he realized that "a couple of miles east" were alarmingly close to Bond Temps… and Sookie. He shook frustrated on his head and forced himself to focus on the task. When landing between the trees in the deeper part of the wood, he also realized that this was a complete waste of time. There was no sign what so ever of wolves. No foul smell, no sound of paws, and no gleaming eyes. Well, now when he was here, he could as well search the area.

After searching for almost two hours, without seeing anything of interest, he gave up and sank down at the trunk of one of the large trees. The time was approaching ten and he should be getting back to Fangtasia but the thought of sitting there for another night wasn't at all tempting. So he just sat there staring into the darkness. Time past and the seconds became minutes, that soon became an hour.

A dull blast of thunder broke the silence, and the sky opened. The rain poured down in rich gushes, creating a blurred veil in the darkness. Eric didn't move from his spot under the tree and soon he was soaked in rainwater. His blond hair left its usual position and hung dripping in front of his eyes and his black t-shirt clung tightly to his back. Still, he didn't move and he realized that he must look rather pathetic, sitting curled up against a tree, water cursing down his face, but he didn't care. At least the rain washed away the tears that had started to pour from his eyes. It felt like both a relief and a failure to let the cold, composed facade down for a while. Trying to put up walls and shut in every single emotion was a full time job, and it was exhausting, which meant it was quite a mental relief to let them show. Yet, he hated himself for even having emotions. Emotions were weakness, a _human_ weakness from which he should be free by now, after over a thousand years. Yet here he sat, crying bloody, very real tears over a human, and he didn't do anything to stop it. For once, he let himself feel, after all, nobody was there to see his pitiful state.

Suddenly there was a movement between the dark trees and Eric jumped to his feet. His fangs shot out and he growled low. "Who's there?" No answer, just steppes that softly approached. They were too loud to be a wolf, but to smooth to be a lost hiker. He did not like it. "Show yourself or I guarantee that the next step you take will be the last." A chuckle came from the darkness and a silhouette broke from the shadows.

**So, what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Reviews are always appreciated ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author note: Thank you so much for the reviews. They really made my day. So, here's another chapter, I really struggled to make it work, I hope it turned out okay**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sob**

_Chapter 2_

_Suddenly there was a movement between the dark trees and Eric jumped to his feet. His fangs shot out and he growled low. "Who's there?" No answer, just steppes that softly approached. They were too loud to be a wolf, but to smooth to be a lost hiker. He did not like it. "Show yourself or I guarantee that the next step you take will be the last." A chuckle came from the darkness and a silhouette broke from the shadows._

"Eric Northman. I was starting to think I wouldn't find you." The voice was hoarse and grave, a perfect match to the man it belonged to. He was almost taller than Eric himself, and the enormous muscles under the brown leather coat made him look almost twice as broad. Long black hair hung tangled over the shoulders and the face… Well, with the rain and thunderstorm, the face looked like something taken out of a bad horror movie. It was covered scars, the nose was crocked and one of the eyes had an unnatural white color. Eric actually found it quite comical, the man looked somewhat like a parody of a movie-villain. He was back to his normal self in an instant. Walls up and all emotions in control, he had had enough with the feely-crap for at least two lifetimes. He wiped his wet hair out of his face and stared patronizing at the man. "Do I know you?"

"No," the man went to stand just a few feet from him, way to confident for Eric's liking. "But I know who you are." Eric raised his eyebrows in a disbelieving frown and snorted. He should kill the man just for talking in such an disrespectful tone, but he doubted that the authority would appreciate that he killed a human for such a reason. "You are the sheriff of this area, you are the owner of the vampirebar Fangtasia." Eric just laughed mockingly. "Well, that's not exactly a secret."

"I also know that your queen sent you to look for werewolves it this area tonight." The man seemed to know a little too much and Eric snarled and showed his fangs. He hadn't fed very much the latest days, for which he blamed Sookie, and her delicious fay blood. However, being close to a human with a beating heart made him realize just how hungry he was. He also felt like he had to make up for his emotional outburst, and ripping a throat open seemed like just the right thing to do. Wipe that smug grin of that ugly face, replace it with a grimace in pain as he tore of the limbs. Suddenly, he was _very_ hungry.

"Do you also know that I'm over a thousand years old, and if I wanted to, I could rip you open and drain you before you even had time to react? And that you right now are very close to pushing me over the edge?" Eric towered over the man, it didn't matter that their heights were the same, Eric could tower over most people, it wasn't a matter of height, but of authority. The reaction he got was not expected. The man laughed, he fucking laughed. That took the last of Eric's hardly existing patience. Screw the authority, you don't laugh at Eric Northman without consequences. Roaring in anger, he lounged at the man, crushing him to the ground. He went for the throat, expecting to feel flesh tear under his fangs and blood fill his mouth, but instead, he felt a horribly strong hand grab his own throat and the man sprung to his feet, holding the vampire in a tight grip.

Everything happened so quickly, Eric suddenly found himself being rammed against the tree behind him, a massive arm pressing harshly on his chest. When the first shock of being overpowered had left him, Eric tried to haul the man off, only to find it impossible. He possessed a strength that clearly wasn't human. The man grabbed his wrists with one hand, while using the other to pull out a rough stake, the size of normal person's upper arm. He forced the sharpened piece of wood to Eric's chest. "Stupid thing to do, vampire. I am always one step ahead. " The male smirked as he let the stake draw blood.

"The reason that you can't find any wolves are that there _are_ no wolves. You are here because I gave a fake anonymous tip to the queen's folks, _telling_ them that there were werewolves around. I'm actually quite surprised that they fell for it," the man chuckled hoarsely as he carved a long gash with the stake across the vampire's chest, and Eric clenched his jaw. He refused to make any sound to acknowledge the pain. He didn't like how the situation was slipping out of his hands. It didn't matter how much he fought to get loose, the hand holding his wrists refused to budge.

"Well." He forced himself to say something. "For what reason do you want me to be here then?" He was responded with a broad sneer. "There's a price on your head, a quite big sum actually, 50.000 dollars. Seems like you have very rich enemies," Eric let out a strained laugh, even though there was nothing funny what so ever with the situation. "Well that's great then, you could use the money to buy a new face." A sudden crash of thunder, louder than any of the previous, hit through the smattering rain. The man reacted on the sound with loosening his grip on Eric's wrists, if only for a second, but the vampire wasn't late to react. In a speed unable to follow with human eyes, he slipped from his position under the stake, and made a violent outfall to the man's throat. Finally, the sensation of blood filled his mouth as he bit down in his lower neck. He felt great satisfaction as the man growled in pain and anger, but it didn't last long.

Eric was overwhelmed by a blinding pain as the stake was plunged deeply inside his chest, missing his heart by only an inch. He screamed at the top of his lungs and the man before him laughed cruelly while letting the thick pole crush his bones. He finished off with giving it a hard plunge, causing it to pierce through the rest of Eric's chest, nailing him to the tree behind. For a moment his vision darkened, the world spun and he thought he would pass out from the pain. It throbbed, ached... burned. He was trembling uncontrollably from the shock and pain, and the man's scornful laughter seemed to come through deep water, every sound muffled and distant. Suddenly, the stake was removed with a brutal tug and he screamed again. The raw wood left sharp splinters in the wound, effectively preventing any possibilities of healing. Another stab hit him, in his stomach this time. And another, in his shoulder, his arm, his thigh. Eric kept screaming, but the sound had been reduced to whimpers, gurgling noises and blood. Even through all this, he didn't stop fighting to get loose, not that it made any difference at this point. His body didn't obey and when the man let go of the grip he held on his wrist's, Eric slumped to the ground.

The man looked down at him and smirked mockingly. "I would finish you of you know, but I have to admit that I enjoyed this. It would be a pity if we couldn't do it again. So I guess I'll see you around." "Oh and take this," he said, referring to the bloody stake in his hand, "as a souvenir." At the last word, Eric felt how the stake slowly was being pushed through his stomach again, pinning him to the ground. He might have cried out again, maybe even let out an involuntarily sob in pain, he didn't know. He didn't know anything any longer, it was all just pain. He fought desperately not to lose consciousness, not to let the darkness take over... Eric was no longer aware of his surroundings. No longer aware of the man, who took one last glance at the collapsed vampire before turning and disappearing into the darkness between the trees.

**The plot thickens! Now, I know that this chapter brings up questions, but believe me, they will be answered sooner or later. We are, after all, only in the very beginning of the story. Remember to review, you know you want to ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for updating so late, real life is intruding (as always). You'd think that I could've written a really long chapter with this much time, but apparently not. Sorry for that, but the next one will be longer, and hopefully, not as late. Your reviews make me happy (like super happy) and inspired to write more, so please keep them coming**

_Chapter 3_

_Eric felt how the stake slowly was being pushed through his stomach again, pinning him to the ground. He might have cried out again, maybe even let out an involuntarily sob in pain, he didn't know. He didn't know anything any longer, it was all just pain. He fought desperately not to lose consciousness, not to let the darkness take over... Eric was no longer aware of his surroundings. No longer aware of the man, who took one last glance at the collapsed vampire before turning and disappearing into the darkness between the trees. _

The darkness that blurred his vision was closing in, his body starting to feel numb. Was this how dying felt like? No! He fucking refused to meet the true death like this, he was a Viking, a warrior. Eric lifted the arm that hadn't been damaged by the stake and gripped the wooden pole in his stomach. He clenched his jaw, bracing himself and pulled, putting all his strength to it. The sound of flesh tearing once more filled his ears through the drizzling sound of rain, as he ripped the stake from his body. A wave of pain came over him and for a moment, he just lay there, trying to pull himself together. The pain started to transform into merciful numbness again and he forced himself to roll over. "Step one done," he thought, trying to focus on anything but how his body felt. "Now get to your feet."

His body screamed in protest at the movement, but he somehow managed to get to his knees, and with aid from one of the trees, he stood up, his whole body shaking and the pain renewed, but he was of the ground.

Eric stumbled forward, trying not to put any weight on his injured leg, he wasn't sure if he would be able to get up again if he fell. Blood seeped rapidly from his wounds and he clutched his aching chest in a weak attempt to make at least some of it stop. He started to make his way through the darkness, limping aimlessly over the slippery ground. Eric's thoughts were dazed and confused by pain and all he could think of was to get as far away as possible. If he'd had some kind of plan to begin with, it was long gone by now. It made absolutely no sense what so ever to walk blindly, fatally injured through the darkness, but somehow that didn't occur to him.

The little strength he had was fading quickly, every single step became an enormous struggle and soon, the vampire lost track of time. Had he walked for an hour? A minute? When he felt how his legs started to give in, he clung to a near by tree for support, it became his anchor in the fog of anguish that clouded his mind. The fog that prevented him from doing anything rationally. When grasping for another tree to hold on to, his hand just caught air. He wasn't prepared for the sudden void, and without the support, his knees buckled and he fell to the ground. A small yelp in pain escaped him as his body connected with the gravel covered surface with a hard thud. Gravel… When managing to lift his head a little, Eric made out the first rational thought in what felt like forever. He was lying on a road. Which road it was he couldn't tell. He tried to get up again, but this time it was impossible. He had pushed his body way beyond its limits and had nothing left to give, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't move. A feeling of being completely helpless came over him, he hated it, more than the pain, more than anything. An icy coldness soon followed it, different from the one caused by the rain and his soaked clothes. Death's coldness. Somewhere in the distance, there was a blinding light, it seemed to come closer but before it reached him, the world faded and the darkness took over.

The small road was pitch dark, except for the warm light beams from a car's headlights. Sookie yawned and tried to focus on the bumpy road ahead, it proved difficult as she was completely exhausted. It had been a very long night, she and Tara hadn't made it out of Merlotte's until almost eleven o'clock. She really looked forward to a warm bed as she struggled to keep her eyelids open. They would get home a lot quicker if she just could concentrate on driving, falling asleep at the wheel and end up in the ditch did not seem like a good idea.

"Hell, if this rain doesn't stop soon, we'll have to use a boat to get to work," Tara shook her head as she watched the water cursing down the windows of the car.

"The day we actually have use boats to get around Tara, I promise that getting to work will be the least of our problems," Sookie smiled at her friend. Smiling that was good, she made progress. It hadn't been a lot of smiles the latest month, but it was getting better. Better and better for every day actually. After weeks of alternating between anger and overwhelming sadness, she had decided that that was it, Bill wasn't worth that kind of energy. She would not let him control her life any longer, he wasn't even in it, no vampires were as a matter of fact. Since she had resigned Eric's and Bill's invitations from her house, and simply chosen do pretend like vampires had ceased to exist, it actually seemed like they had done the same to her. She hadn't seen hide nor hair of any of them.

Sookie had almost expected Eric to come banging on her door, despite her clear statement that she wanted nothing to do with him ever again, but she hadn't heard from him at all. A part of her was actually disappointed, but she ignored it. Her life was so much easier without vampires and right now, easy was great. Though she had to admit that she kind of missed the blond Viking… He had been a quite big part of her life, and now he was just gone. Sookie wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. No, she decided, no doubt, it was a good thing. No more vampires, no more trouble. She tried to push the thought of Eric to the furthest corner of her mind, determined to keep her light mood. It didn't work all that well, damn that guy was hard to get rid of! Both physically and mentally speaking.

"Sookie watch the road!" Tara's shrilled scream awoke Sookie from her thoughts. She had been completely lost in her mind and when she focused again, her heart stopped. Something, _someone_ was lying in the middle of the road. She gasped in shock and the car's tires screamed as she jammed the brakes, desperate to make the vehicle stop before she hit whatever, or rather, whoever it was.

**This was a really short chapter, and nothing all that interesting happened, but we're getting there, we needed to get Sookie into the story right?;) So here she comes, our favorite telepath, ready to save the day. Or just get herself into a big mess, she's good at that too.**

**As always, review. Every word is appreciated:)**


	4. Chapter 4

Author note: Thank you for the reviews, as always . Yes, another chapter is here. Sookie to the comes to rescue our favorite Viking.

Chapter 4

"Sookie watch the road!" Tara´s shrilled scream awoke Sookie from her thoughts. She had been completely lost in her mind and when she focused again, her heart stopped. Something, someone was lying in the middle of the road. She gasped in shock and the car´s tires screamed as she jammed the brakes, desperate to make the vehicle stop before she hit whatever, or rather, whoever it was.

Only a few feet away from the figure slumped on the ground, the car stopped. The two women just sat there for a moment, trying to pull themselves together, Tara was clinging to her seatbelt, eyes wide in shock, and Sookie held a convulsive grip on the wheel. Thank God the car decided to be on her side tonight! She stared wide eyed on the pale man lying facedown in the gravel and a hard knot was formed in her stomach. The muscular torso and the blond hair looked awfully familiar…

Oh my god oh my god ho my god! She threw herself out of the car and ran over to the figure. Please God don´t let it be… "Eric!" Her heart raced, she crouched down and shook him slightly, hoping for some kind of response. There was none, the vampire was dead to the world. As she let her gaze travel down his body, she felt how the knot in her stomach grew. It was hard to make out the exact features through the rain and darkness, but as she let her hand trace one of the tears in his shirt, she felt something wet and sticky. Her hand came back red with blood and as her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, she could make out large wounds through the torn fabric. What the hell happened to him?

"What the fuck… " Tara came to stand at her side, staring in disbelieve at the fallen vampire.

"We have to get him into the car," Sookie grabbed Eric around his chest, a shudder going down her spine as she felt blood from the wound coat her hands. "Grab his legs."

"Hell Sook," Tara just stood there, shaking her head, "Don't you think we should…"

"Tara just help," Sookie interrupted.

"Fucking vampires, always getting into trouble," Tara muttered but did as she was told. Sookie ignored her comment, and took a deep breath, "Okay, lift," oh God he was heavy! The small part moved slowly towards the car Sookie managed to climb into the backseat, dragging Eric with her. She panted, trying to catch her breath before settling his head on her lap, his long legs hanging from the seat. It was probably not very comfortable for him, but in his state, unconscious and all, she was sure he wouldn´t mind.

"You drive, I´ll sit with him," Sookie decided and looked to Tara.

"Hell no! What if he wakes up and attacks you?" Tara hissed, anger and worry in her voice.

"He´s got dreadful wounds all over his body, he´s covered in blood and been lying on that road for God knows how long, I think I can cope!" Sookie snarled, angered over Tara´s attitude. Tara looked like she was on the verge on talking back again, but as Sookie gave her a meaning look, she slammed the door and got into the driver´s seat.

The dark vegetation on the side of the road passed by as they continued the short ride to Sookie´s house. They were both quiet, lost in thoughts. Confusion and anxiety swirled in Sookie´s mind as she watched the unmoving vampire. It was hard to grasp the fact that it actually was Eric lying there, looking so frightfully dead. Not his normal vampire-dead, but really, truly dead. She found herself stroking back his wet blond hair from his handsome face. It was like a reflex, she felt like she wanted to comfort him. Though mostly it was to calm herself, just sitting there made her feel nervous.

They finally reached the driveway and Tara parked. Sookie took a deep breath, now she could do something constructive. Tara jumped out of the car and opened the Sookie´s door. She struggled to get out, recapturing the grip around Eric´s chest. Tara made a halfhearted effort to help, but soon sighed, "Sook I´m sorry, but there´s no fucking way we can carry him all the way up to the house!"

"Oh shut up Tara!" Sookie didn´t want her friend to put words on her own doubts. "Just stop the whining and help me!" Feeling that her friend was near a breakdown, Tara swallowed her emotions and grabbed the vampire´s legs.

They started to make their way towards the porch, feet slithering in the wet grass, struggling with Eric´s dead weight. Sookie´s arms and shoulder screamed from the effort but she was on adrenaline by now. The stair was the hardest part and she felt how her grip around Eric was slipping but she locked it and forced her feet to move all the way to the door.

"I´ll unlock," Tara somehow managed to pull out her keys and get the door open, and they stumbled inside.

"Couch," Sookie gasped under her breath and moved towards the living room, knees beginning to buckle under Eric´s weight. Relieve flooded her aching shoulders and arms as she released the convulsive grip around Eric´s chest and lowered him down on the couch. However, the relieve disappeared as soon as Tara switched the lights on. Her heart raced in panic as she watched the raw wounds that showed underneath his torn clothes. The injuries looked worse, much worse, when she saw them in the light. He needed blood, and she didn´t have any TrueBlood… only one thing to do then. She ran out in the kitchen and pulled out a knife, the smallest, least frightening one and returned to the living room. As she crouched down beside Eric´s unmoving frame, she could feel Tara´s stare on her. She braced herself, no matter how much she tried, she couldn´t deny that this reminded her far too much about the events in the van that had led to Bill almost draining her. But she had to do this, she couldn´t let Eric suffer for what Bill did. He had already endured quite a lot of her anger that should´ve been directed towards her ex. She couldn´t lose him. Sure, she had screamed at him and said she never wanted to see him again, but this was different. This would be permanent, irreversibly, forever-gone, she couldn´t take that. She took a deep breath and was just about to let the knife puncture the skin on her wrist when Tara grabbed her arm and gave her a furious look.

"What the hell Sook," she spat, "don´t you remember what happened last time you did that shit? You ended up in hospital!"

"Tara, he needs blood or he will die. He´s far too weak to harm me. Hell, he´s on the brink of death!" Sooke was getting desperately tired of Tara´s constant resistance.

"Well I ain´t letting you do this. It ain´t worth it! He…" she pointed at the unconscious Eric, "is just a fucking dead ass that has done nothing but putting you in trouble!"

This caused Sookie to finally lose her patience. "You have no idea what you are talking about!" she roared furiously. "Eric is worth just as much as anybody else and he´s fucking, dying. I will not let you stop me from helping him!" With that, Sookie broke free from Tara´s grip and as she turned away, she could hear her stomp of, mumbling something about, `if he tries something funny, I´ll be in the kitchen.´ Deeply inside, Sookie knew that Tara´s anger mostly was concern about her, but she had to deal with that later. Right now, she had to take care of Eric. She turned her attention towards the still very unconscious vampire and braced herself again before putting the knife to her wrist, letting it puncture the skin. Blood started to seep from the small wound and she put her wrist to Eric´s cold lips, carefully coaxing his mouth opened. There was no reaction.

"Come on…" she mumbled, hoping that his instincts would take over his body. Still nothing. "Please Eric." She stroked him lightly over the wet, blond hair. "You can´t just give up on me."

Sookie felt how despair started to well up inside, but then, when she had almost given up all hope, she felt a slight draw at her wrist. She could have screamed, cried in relief as Eric started to, feebly and slowly but still, gulp down the blood that filled his mouth. Sookie let out a small happy laugh, feeling how the tension started to let go. After a few more gulps, Eric eyelids started to flutter and after a few more, she could finally meet his blue eyes.

He stared at her, blinking and trying to focus, confusion and pain in his eyes. "Sookie?" His voice was faint and raspy, barely more than a whisper, but he was awake. Sookie smiled mildly and pulled back her wrist.

"Hey there. How do you feel?"

There you go folks, what do you think? I know, Tara is kind of a bitch in this chapter, but let´s be honest, she´s kinda angry with all vampires, especially after the whole Franklin-thing. For all those who doesn´t like her, I can revele that I don`t plan on having her there for much longer. Oh well, I just made it sound like I was going to kill her off… no I won´t do that, because I actually like her in a way. She´ll just go someplace else, I´ve got it all figured out. Remember to review;)


	5. Chapter 5

**I know! It´s been forever. I´m sorry for keeping you waiting, especially after all those wonderful reviews. But here´s another chapter, and well, it´s not all that long but the next chapter is almost done, so if things goes according to plans, I´ll be posting it on Wednesday So, enjoy**

_Chapter 5_

_He stared at her, blinking and trying to focus, confusion and pain in his eyes. "Sookie?" His voice was faint and raspy, barely more than a whisper, but he was awake. Sookie smiled mildly and pulled back her wrist._

_"Hey there. How do you feel?"_

Eric said nothing for a moment, then, his body registered the pain and he groaned slightly. "I´ve had better days. Even though your blood tastes as good as ever," he added with a hint of a smirk.

"Well there´s the Eric I know and occasionally get along with." Sookie sighed in relive and put her wrist back to his mouth, "You should drink some more, you have lost quite a lot of blood." Eric took another gulp, but as he swallowed his face contorted in pain and he pulled away from her wrist.

"What´s wrong?" She felt the anxiety grow again.

"I-I just seem to have some problems swallowing," he mumbled.

"Is it the injuries? How bad are they?" Sookie´s gazed concerned over his body.

"The wounds goes straight through, guess that´s not very good."

"Oh God," Sookie gasped. "But they´ll heal now when you´ve fed. Right?" she hoped that he had gotten down enough of her blood, he really needed it.

"There´s splinters in them," Eric´s strained voice started to trail off and Sookie began to fear he would pass out again. "Think you need to… remove them…" He closed his eyes.

"No no, Eric," she cupped his ice cold face, trying to get his attention "You stay with me now. Should I try to get them out?" Eric didn´t answer, and Sookie realized she would´ve to deal with this on her own.

"Well Sookie," okay, so she talked to herself, so what? "Time to put your nursing skills to the test." She started to remove his clothing, deciding that the only way to get his shirt of was to simply cut it off. She took the knife and made a tear in the collar, and started tugging the fabric apart. Oh this felt incredibly weird… When she´d freed his upper body from clothing, she moved on to the wet, dirtied jeans, which she managed to pull off without having to ruin them. She let her gaze travel over the now boxer clad vampire. Damn it, why did he have to look so... gorgeous? The slender muscles under the pale skin, the high cheekbones and chiseled jaw… "Oh for crying out loud," she scolded herself, "you´re suppose to help him, pull yourself together."

Said and done, Sookie decided to start with the wound in his chest and shuddered slightly as she approached the open flesh with her hands. She couldn´t help it, putting her fingers in that mess of flesh and blood was not at all tempting, but the visible splinters looked terribly painful and she overlooked her fear. She nipped the biggest, most shallow splinter and pulled it out. It had been imbedded deeper than it had seemed, and as it was ripped from the wound, Eric suddenly bolted awake, screaming in agony. His hand flew up to cover the wound, his instincts telling him to keep away the intruding hands that caused him more pain.

"Shh," Sookie tried to sooth the vampire by putting a soft hand on his unharmed shoulder "It´s okay, it´s just me."

"Not that I mind you undressing me," Eric rasped out as he settled back on the couch, "but do you have to add that torture?"

"I´m just picking out the splinters, you told me to."

"You could just suck them out you know," a slight smirk played in the corner of his mouth.

"I´m starting to think I liked you better unconscious," Sookie shook her head and rolled her eyes. She didn´t mean it of course. His teasing actually felt comforting, like everything was normal. "You have to let me pick them out, I know it hurts but it has to be done." Eric nodded slightly and moved his hand away from the wound. Sookie took a deep, calming breath

"Okay, here we go," she mumbled and put her fingers to the wound again.

Almost five minutes later, the splinters in the wounds had finally been removed. Sookie´s hands were bloodied and she felt shaky, but at least she was in better shape than Eric. During the whole procedure, the vampire had stayed completely still. She had felt his muscles tense and seen his face contort in pain, but he hadn´t made a sound or winced the slightest, Sookie guessed it was the usual vampire-pride that kicked it. Now however, his body was acting on its own accords. He was trembling violently and a thin layer of sweat coated his skin.

"Are you done?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Yes," Sookie answered in her most gentle tone. "I´ll fetch some bandages, since it seems it´ll take some time for you heal, and you can´t lose any more blood." She rose and hurried to the bathroom, pulling out all of what the shelves could offer regarding bandages and piled it up in her arms. On her way back to the living room, Tara came out from the kitchen, a slightly guilty look on her face, she was apparently regretting her previous outfall.

"You okay?" she cleared her throat before asking, "I heard screaming."

"That was, as I guess you noted, Eric. And I´m fine, thanks for asking," Sookie answered shortly. She wasn't quite in the mood for making up with Tara at the moment. She could glance Eric over Tara´s shoulder, and he did not look good. The shivers seemed to have gotten worse and his eyes were squeezed shut against the pain. "Eric however is not fine," she added as she walked past her friend.

"Sookie I," Tara started but didn´t get a chance to finish as Sookie interrupted.

"Look Tara," she said over her shoulder as she crouched down beside Eric´s quivering frame. "I´m not mad at you. Go to bed, we´ll talk in the morning." With a declared sigh, Tara gave up and started climbing the stairs. Sookie turned her attention back to the vampire.

"Eric, you think you´ll be able to sit up a little if I help you? I need to dress the wounds." Once again, she was only answered with a slight nod.

With help from Sookie, Eric was able to get into some kind of half sitting position, leaning heavily on the armrest.

She started to wrap the bandages around the injuries, starting at his arm and going over his shoulder, down to his broad chest and sculptured stomach. When she´d finished off with wrapping up the last wound on his thigh, Eric looked somewhat like a mummy. A very handsome and muscular mummy, but still. She helped him getting into lying position, and even though he winced slightly as his body connected with the cushions again, he seemed grateful to lie down.

"I´ll get a blanket, you look cold," Sookie scooted over to the armchair and grabbed a quilt. It was her gran that had made it and she was glad she´d always been so bad with proportions. The quilt was much bigger than it was supposed to be, but since Eric was quite big himself, it was perfect. She placed the blanket over his body, carefully tucking him in. The shivering started to ease, and soon, Eric lay completely motionless.

"Do you need anything else?" Sookie studied his pale face, waiting for an answer, but the vampire had closed his eyes and made no indication of hearing her. He seemed to be out cold again, exhausted from blood loss and pain. Not having something constructive to do at the moment caused Sooke to feel the effects from being out in pouring rain, and dragging 6,4 feet of vampire around. Her soaked clothes clung to her body, and she trembled a bit from the cold. How she longed for a hot shower and dry clothes, a warm bed. She had done all she could for Eric at the moment, now, she decided she could rest a bit.

Walking out of the living room towards the stair, the clock on the wall caught her eye. She noted that it was almost three in the morning. Morning. After that thought, another realization hit her. Sun would be up in just a few hours, she needed to call Pam. She pushed away the fatigue and went into the kitchen and picked up the phone. She chose not to call Fangtasia, since she wasn´t sure what time they closed up, instead she dialed Pam´s cellphone number. It was kind of odd that she remembered it, but she didn´t reflect over that at the moment. The dialing tone beeped in hear ear, and while waiting for an answer, Sookie silently scolder herself for not calling Pam earlier. Well, she´d had her hands full, but Pam would´ve been very useful in the situation. Her thoughts were put to an end as a clicking sound was heard from the other side of the line, and someone picked up.

"Pam here."

**A strange way to end a chapter perhaps... oh well it´s ended. As I mentioned before, you won´t be needing to wait all that long for the next one. **

**Thanks for reading and remember to review! :)  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Tadaa! New chapter, a long one. Enjoy**

_Chapter 6_

_The dialing tone beeped in hear ear, and while waiting for an answer, Sookie silently scolder herself for not calling Pam earlier. Well, she´d had her hands full, but Pam would´ve been very useful in the situation. Her thoughts were put to an end as a clicking sound was heard from the other side of the line, and someone picked up._

"Pam here." Pam´s voice broke slightly. Sookie had never heard her sound like that before, she must be pretty upset. That was not strange though, Pam was probably able to feel Eric´s pain through their blood bond. She knew a maker could feel if their child was in danger, so it probably worked the other way around.

"Pam. It´s Sookie.

"I don´t have time for your shit right now Sookie." Well that was the Pam she knew, but she noted that there was a desperate undertone in the vampire´s voice. "Eric is not here, call again later."

"He is here." She was about to explain the situation further, but Pam interrupted her.

"Oh I´ll kill him! I´ve been worried sick about him and he has just been there fucking you," Pam didn´t sound angry, just relieved and Sookie felt her heart ache as she needed to ruin that for her. She didn´t even bother to get annoyed with her for assuming that she would jump in bed with Eric just like that.

"I´m sorry Pam but it´s not as you think. Eric is here, he´s badly injured and I need you to come here as fast as you can." She expected Pam to explode and bomb her with questions, but not a sound came. Pam had hung up. Sookie hoped that it meant she was on her way.

She put down the telephone and left the kitchen, and looked into the living room to check on Eric. The vampire was still lying motionless on the couch, so she decided to let herself relax for a few minutes before she had to deal with the approaching Pam. She went upstairs and changed from her wet Merlotte´s-uniform to sweatpants, a hoodie and wool socks. The damp coldness was replaced by a pleasant warmth. She had almost forgotten the wound on her wrist, it wasn´t bleeding, but she still put a large plaster on it, just in case, before going back downstairs. A long yawn escaped her, the late hour constantly making itself known. That was just one of the problems with vampires, everything happened at night, and it seriously disrupted her sleep pattern. Sookie returned to the living room and sank down in the armchair. That was a stupid thing to do, she soon realized. The soft cushions were far too comfortable, and she would fall asleep if she didn´t get up right now. But it felt so nice to sit down for awhile… surely she could just rest her eyes for a little bit…

A sharp knock on the door awoke Sookie from her slumber. Damn you armchair and your wonderful softness! She sprung to her feet and hurried over to the door and when she opened it, she was met by a real mess, coming in the form of Pam. Her normally quite blank face had a look of desperation and her carefully matched clothing was soaked wet from the rain. Well yes, it was still raining.

"Come in." Sookie hadn´t noticed before how tired she sounded, but as her voice came out, slightly crackling, she realized that she sounded pretty drowsy. Pam was inside the house and in her living room before Sookie even could react. It must be some kind of maker-child thing that made her know where Eric was. She followed Pam into her living room, where she found her kneeling beside her maker´s still body, softly stroking his pale cheek.

"What happened?" Pam´s voice lacked of every emotion and she didn´t look at Sookie as she talked.

"I don´t know." Sookie answered honestly. "I found him unconscious on the road a few hours ago. He has several deep stab wounds, one very close to the heart. I´ve dressed them all though, and let him feed of my blood." At the last part, Pam shot her a look that was a mixture of surprise and thankfulness. "He has been falling in and out of unconsciousness, and he is very weak, I think he nearly bled out." Sookie didn´t like the words that came out of her mouth. Saying it out loud made it all so very real.

"Did he tell you who attacked him?"

"I didn´t ask. He was, is, in a very bad state."

"How much blood did you give him?"

"Just a little." She sighed deeply and went to sit beside Pam. "He seems to have trouble getting it down." Pam´s jaws clenched and the anxiety in her eyes was palpable.

"Do you think…" Sookie had to brace herself for this question. The question she had been asking herself quietly through the whole night. "He´ll be okay?"

"I don't know." The answer wasn´t expected, not what she wanted to hear. She wanted to see Pam smirk and tell her that of course he would, it would only take a few hours rest."He needs to get more blood, and a lot of rest." Pam rose and bit her lip, Sookie could see a blood tear slowly make it down her pale cheek.

"No, he will be okay. He will heal." Pam then said, more to herself to Sookie. "It will take a little while, due to the blood loss, but he will heal." Sookie rose as well and Pam wiped the tear of her cheek.

"Can he stay here? I don´t want to move him for a long distant." Pam´s voice was calm again, lacking of the sadness from moments earlier. It sounded more like an order than a question Sookie felt that she hadn´t much of a choice, she would just have to continue her Samaritan duties a little while longer.

"Yes." She sighed, not being able to stop herself from feeling that over one night she had been thrust back into the world from which she so desperately had tried to escape from. "If we can put my wardrobe on the floor it will make an okay coffin. The fact that she even could come up with such a thought should´ve frightened her, but it came out as the most natural thing in the world. She smiled faintly and Pam gave a smile in return.

"Well." Pam chuckled slightly. "That would at least be safe from the sun." She glanced at her watch. "I should probably move him there now. Sun will be up in an hour or two."

"You can carry him up all by yourself?" Stupid question, Sookie thought after saying it out loud. Pam was a vampire, freakishly strong, and despite her slight size, carrying Eric up the stairs wouldn´t be a problem. Pam seemed to notice her realization and smirked. "Sugar, I could carry both of you upstairs, one on each arm."

Ten minutes later, Sookie and Pam had arranged her enormous, ancient wardrobe on the floor. It covered a large amount of the floor´s surface and all of her clothes were piled up on the bed. The room looked messy, to say the least, but would just have to be that for a little while. Since the supernatural had entered her life, with all of what it meant with maenads and werewolf-attacks, her whole house seemed to be constantly messy.

Sookie had brought most of what the house had to offer regarding thick blankets, covers and pillows and made a fluffy nest on the wardrobe´s wall, now floor. It actually looked rather inviting, she thought to herself, and it felt good knowing that Eric at least would be somewhat comfortable. She heard the creaking of floorboards as Pam approached from the stairs and soon she was to be seen in the door entrance, holding Eric in her arms in a secure embrace. Sookie couldn´t help but smile at the scene. Eric, 1000 year old Viking-vampire, lying curled up in Pam´s arms, the blond head safely resting on her shoulder and his body still wrapped in the blanket. It looked adorable.

"He won´t be happy about this when he wakes up, he hates being babied. He´ll probably kill me," Pam laughed softly as she carefully placed Eric in the fluffiness in the improvised coffin. At this movement, Eric started to stir slightly and suddenly, he opened his eyes, looking up at the two women. His frowned and blinked a few times, looking dazed.

Pam?" His voice was barely audible but Pam had no problems hearing it. She crouched down beside the wardrobe and looked down at him.

"I´m here. How do you feel? Have you healed at all?" It was truly remarkable how calm Pam was being.

Eric was silent a few seconds, trying to determine the state of his injuries. He then shook his head faintly.

"I don´t think so. What´s wrong with me?" He sounded frustrated. Sookie guessed that vampires weren´t used to being injured for longer periods. And she knew for a fact that Eric hated appearing weak and vulnerable.

"You haven´t taken care of yourself that´s what wrong." Pam scolded gently. She probably would have given him a real tell of if it weren´t for his sad appearance. "You haven´t eaten or slept properly in a month."

Sookie felt how a new eerie feeling started to spread in her body. A month. A month ago, she had thrown him out of her house and told him she never wanted to see him again… But it couldn´t have anything to do with that, could it? Eric was a coldhearted vampire… he wouldn´t care that much. Would he?

"If you just could feed you´ll be fine in a couple of days." Pam didn´t notice the confusion and nervousness that clouded Sookie´s face. She glanced at her watch and cursed silently, only an hour to sunrise. "I need to leave, but first you will have to tell who attacked you." "So that I can crush every bone in his body." She added in her mind.

Eric started to tell her about the attack in the woods, and at this, Sookie snapped out of her thoughts. This was what had gnawed in the back of her mind since she found him on the road hours earlier. Eric intentionally left out the part of the story where he had just been sitting pathetically sad under a tree. He wouldn´t admit that emotional breakdown to anyone. Ever. "And the next thing I remember was waking up in Sookie´s couch." He finished off and Pam got to her feet. She said something in Swedish and gave him a reassuring smile. Eric gave a crooked one in return.

"Sookie, a quick word please." Pam walked towards the door, expecting Sookie to follow. As the two women left the room, Eric mumbled, "I won´t even ask how you got me into this fucking wardrobe Pamela." Pam smirked and rolled her eyes as she closed the door. Sookie was just about to start asking questions, but Pam shook her head, pointing at the bedroom door. Of course, Eric would hear them if they talked here, and Pam didn´t want to give him more things to worry about. Pam took the lead down the stairs and Sookie followed. She didn´t stop until she reached the hall, where she could be sure the barely awake Eric wouldn´t hear them.

"What did you mean by "you haven´t eaten or slept properly in a month?" Sookie could finally ask. She desperately hoped that the answer would be something in style with: it has been hectic at Fangtasia, or: many problems in the area.

Pam sighed, seemingly frustrated. "You really have no idea do you?"

"What?" Sookie felt stupid and she could see how Pam´s anger grew.

"You really have no idea what you are doing to him!" The vampire spat. "You only ever think of yourself and your problems. Eric has risked everything for you, and you just pushed him away!"

"Pam, that´s not fair!" Sookie made an attempt to interrupt.

"Oh we´re going to talk about what´s fair now, are we?" Pam was shouting now, all of the anxiety she felt for her maker finally getting outlet. "Is it fair that after all he has done for you, you just turns on him, all because of that fucking idiot Compton? Eric doesn´t sleep, he doesn't eat, and it´s all your fault! You are killing him without even noticing!"

"What? I-I didn´t know," Sookie was too shocked to think straight. There was too many feelings and thoughts in her mind, so many things she wanted to say, but she couldn´t seem to get anything out… she just shook her head in a disbelieving gesture.

"Of course you didn´t." Pam took a deep, unneeded breath to calm herself, taking control of her emotions again. "You need to be more careful with how you handle peoples´ emotions. As you may have noticed, Eric is not at his best when being consumed by depression. Now," she leaved that topic behind, knowing that she needed to leave in order to get home before dawn. "I will look in to who the attacker may have been, your job for now will be to just keep him safe until he is healed." Pam didn´t wait for any kind of respond, she just opened the door and stepped out in the night. "Oh and Sookie. Make sure he feeds, True Blood or real blood, just something. I will be back at sunset." And suddenly, she was gone, leaving the overwhelmed Sookie standing in the hall.

_**I was a bit mean to Sookie in this chapter, at least in the end. She didn´t get to defend herself against Pam´s wrath, poor girl. I guess Pam is being a little unfair, but I felt like someone had to shake her up a little, so that she can start understanding stuff. Oh and of course, someone should shake Eric a little to, since he´s kinda stubborn himself, but at the moment I just feel sorry for him, so I´ll leave him alone for now. Very well, I hope you liked it and I also hope that you will... oh what do you think? review of course :)**  
_


	7. Chapter 7

**I want to apologize for not answering on the reviews. I´m quite new at this, and I didn´t realize that you could answer them until just now. Forgive my stupidity;) But I really appreciate you taking the time to review, so please keep it up. Now, enjoy the new chapter!**

_Chapter 7_

_"I will look in to who the attacker may have been, your job for now will be to just keep him safe until he is healed." Pam didn´t wait for any kind of respond, she just opened the door and stepped out in the night. "Oh and Sookie. Make sure he feeds, True Blood or real blood, just something. I will be back at sunset." And suddenly, she was gone, leaving the overwhelmed Sookie standing in the hall._

She just stood there, staring wide eyed after the vampire. It felt like someone just poured a bucket of ice cold water over her. If what Pam just said was true, she was the most awful, insensitive, ignorant human being in the history of ever! Eric had taken bullets for her, fought down wolves for her. He´d warned her about Bill, but she´d been too stupid to listen. What had she given him in return? She had screamed at him, just poured out hate over him, and thrown him out of her house. Sure, he hadn´t exactly acted like a perfect gentleman far from it, but he had always tried to protect her. The truth came tumbling down on her like a house of cards, she had hurt him. She had hurt a thousand-year-old vampire. A vampire she´d thought was nothing more than a coldhearted bastard, and there for treated him as such.

Sookie forced herself to step away from the door and close it. Walking through a daze towards the stair, she tried to sort out her emotions. She was confused, definitely. She´d always known Eric wanted her, he hadn´t exactly been subtle about that. But that he would lose sleep over her, let himself be weakened over her, that was hard to grasp.

She also was…hurt, yes a bit, Pam had stepped on a few toes. No matter the excuses, being in a lot of danger quite a few times, she could be quite self-absorbed. Most people wouldn´t blame her though, who wouldn´t get a bit self-absorbed when having to constantly watch your back?

Then there was that other feeling… she was angry. What right had Pam to give her that kind of lecture? How was she suppose to know that Eric was feeling so bad? It wasn´t like she could read his mind… Sookie´s guts suddenly went cold. Was that it? Was she so used to being able to know what people thought just by looking into their minds that it, when it came to those whose minds she couldn´t read, she was completely blind for their feelings? Could it really be that bad? Maybe a normal person would´ve known…. No, Eric should´ve said _something_, done _something_ to let her know how he felt. Was that too much to ask? Stubborn, overly proud, afraid-of-showing-any-emotions vamp! Why did he have to make everything so hard? Sookie was right back to angry again, but as soon as she entered her bedroom and looked down at the sleeping vampire in her wardrobe, the anger melted away. Eric looked so incredibly peaceful, vulnerable, the blond hair hanging loosely around his beautiful face and his body curled up under the quilts. How could anyone be angry at someone who looked so much like an angel? She smiled crookedly as she carefully closed the wardrobe´s doors, protecting Eric from the deadly sunrays that the dawn soon would bring. Dawn huh. She should probably try to get some sleep. When turning to lie on her bed, the enormous pile of clothes met her eye. She grasped the garments and moved them onto the wardrobe, not only making her bed a decent place to sleep, but further preventing any light to reach to Eric.

Sookie collapsed on the bed, face turned to the window. Outside, the sky was slowly beginning to shift from dark, velvet blue, to a lighter, pink shade. She´d been up all night. Unbelievable. That was her last coherent thought before she fell asleep.

* * *

"Sook," she awoke as someone was shaking her gently. Blinking and yawning, Sookie tried to figure out what was going on. Tara was standing over her, smiling slightly.

"Hey there sleepyhead," her friend said and straightened up.

"What time is it?" Sookie mumbled and got into sitting position, stretching out her body in an attempt to wake it up. It felt like it was only seconds ago she´d watched the dawn, and looking out the window, she realized it must be at least noon.

"Two in the afternoon, you slept most of the day away. I´ve made you pancakes for… well it´s a litle late to be lunch so let´s say drunch." Tara grinned and put a tray with a plate of pancakes and a coffee pot, down on the nightstand.

"Drunch?" Sookie raised an eyebrow and smiled bemused at the word.

"Oh yes," Tara sat down on the bed and poured up coffee from the pot into a flower printed cup. "It´s a like brunch, but instead of combining breakfast and lunch, it combines dinner and lunch. Smart huh?" She handed Sookie the cup and she accepted it with a grateful smile. Tara poured up another one for herself and they were silent for awhile, Sookie eating her pancakes (they were delicious, who would´ve known?) and Tara drinking coffee.

"I wanted to apologize for yesterday," Tara looked at her, guilty.

"Tara, it´s okay, I" Sookie began. She was about to say that it had been a very surreal night and it was hard to act appropriate then, but Tara hushed her.

"No it´s not. I was out of line. I should´ve helped you instead of just being a whiney bitch. Sure, I don´t like vampires but you obviously care about Eric. Since you've refurnished your bedroom for him," Tara smirked and nodded towards the wardrobe and the pile of clothes on top of it.

"You didn´t open it did you?" Panic struck through Sookie´s mind, but Tara made a calming gesture with her free hand.

"Of course not. I just put two and two together," Tara sounded a bit offended. "I might not like vampires but that doesn´t mean I want to grill a defenseless, injured guy who you´ve just spent the whole night helping."

"I know, I´m sorry," Sookie said apologetic "I´m just worried about him." Tara nodded understanding and put a comforting hand on Sookie´s arm. A comfortable silence rested between them as Sookie finished her meal. When the plate was clean and the cup empty, Tara took a deep breath, preparing herself to say something.

"Don´t take this the wrong way now Sook," she began "but as much as I admire your far to kind heart and will to help everyone and everything, I really don´t feel comfortable living in the same house as a vampire, no matter which one."

"Eric wouldn´t hurt you," Sookie protested, "and I can´t just drive him off! He still needs to heal and…"

"Calm down girl," Tara interrupted her rambling "I didn´t mean he would leave, I´ll leave."

"But,"

"Hey, let me finish, I won´t be leaving town or something. I´ll just stay with Lafayette for awhile."

"Oh, well," Sookie was split at this. One side of her felt bad for making Tara want to leave, but another side told her that it was for the best. Not that she didn´t trust Tara. It wasn´t like she thought she´d stake Eric or anything, but with the vampire being so vulnerable at the moment, the fewer people walking around in the house, the better. "If that´s what you want, I understand." She said after a moment of thoughts.

"Thanks," Tara said and hugged her. "I´ll go after work tonight. By the way are you going to work?"

"I can´t," Sookie shook her head and sighed. "I can´t leave Eric. Oh, Sam´s going to be so pissed, I can´t even tell him why I need the night off!"

"Don't worry about it," Tara assured her as she collected the cups and plate on the tray and started walking towards the door. "I´ll deal with him. Make up some story of you catching a cold or something." "And no," she added as she understood what Sooke was about to say, "I won´t tell anyone that you have a vampire in your closet." She chuckled slightly and Sookie giggled.

Sookie watched her friend leave, feeling relieved over the clearing of air between them. She really hated fighting with her, and she was incredibly thankful that Tara had decided to show off her best side in the end. It was in moments like this she remembered why she loved her feisty friend so much. She lay back on the bed, deciding to sleep just a little while longer.

* * *

Sookie woke up, just an hour later she realized as she looked at her watch. Still almost four hours till sunset. Tara had left for work and now, Sookie wasn´t sure what to do. She wandered through the house, and came up with an idea. Her house really needed a good clean, and a slight reparation in the room where Debbie Pelt had gone berserk. Or well, she to, but that didn´t count. No one were to say that Sookie didn´t know how to take care of her house, when she wanted to, she could be really handy with tools. Deciding that that was a good plan, she began collecting cleaning supplies and tools. Now she would have a couple of hours work.

Several hours later, most of her house was as good as new. She took a long warm shower and after a change of clothes, she glanced out the window. The darkness that had swept in told her that she´d missed sunset. Walking to her bedroom, she silently wondered if Eric had awoken yet. Her wardrobe was still covered in clothes, so if he´d woken up, he hadn´t tried, or hadn´t been able to open it. She removed the pile from the wooden surface and opened one of the doors. Eric was still asleep. It worried her. Vampires was suppose to wake up as soon as the sun set, right?

She didn´t have time to think more about it, a knock on the door was heard and she went downstairs.

"Hi, good that you came so early," she opened the door and greeted her visitor.

"Good evening to you Sookie," Pam was standing outside, looking as calm as a cucumber. Since she´d already been invited in, she swiftly stepped inside.

"Eric hasn´t awoken," Sookie immediately said "Should we be worried?"

"No, that´s okay," Pam said cooly "His body is just catching up on lost sleep, and it´s good that he´s resting, It´ll help him heal."

"Have you found out anything about the attacker?" Sookie moved on quickly, she didn´t want to risk another tell off from the vampire about the reason for Eric´s lost sleep. At the question, Pam´s jaws clenched and a bit of her calm was replaced deep concern.

"I have," she said and gave Sookie a grave look "We´re dealing with something very dangerous."

**Dum dum DUUUUUM (dramatical music) DANGER!. **

**This was kind of a fill in chapter, but as I think you understand, the next one will be more interesting. I hope I didn´t bore you to death though, that would be very sad. Love you for reading it, and review :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! They made my day:) enjoy the new chapter! and oh, i should probably say, I used a bit of swedish in this one, the translation is in the thicker style.**

_Chapter 8_

_"Have you found out anything about the attacker?" Sookie moved on quickly, she didn´t want to risk another tell off from the vampire about the reason for Eric´s lost sleep. At the question, Pam´s jaws clenched and a bit of her calm was replaced deep concern._

_"I have," she said and gave Sookie a grave look "We´re dealing with something very dangerous."_

The second bucket of cold water thrown by Pam hit Sookie with full force. No no no, not very dangerous. A little problem, something that could be solved in just a second the moment Eric was healed and back on his feet. He was a thousand year old vampire for crying out loud! People wasn´t suppose to be dangerous to him, he was suppose to be dangerous to them.

"Don´t you want to hear what I´ve found out," Pam´s question snapped Sookie out of her thoughts.

"Of course, we can talk in the living room," Sookie nodded in direction and Pam strode in front of her into the room and sat down on the couch. "I´m afraid I don´t have any True Blood," Sookie didn´t think Pam actually drank the stuff, but she was raised to always be a good hostess.

"That´s okay Sookie, I´ve fed" Pam said plainly. "Though I´ve brought a couple of bottles for Eric, even though I know he hates it. And I´ve also brought him new clothes, since you obviously ruined the ones he had on." She smirked and nodded towards the crumpled heap of fabric that had been Eric´s shirt. Apparently Sookie had missed that during her frantic cleaning. She scolded herself and made a mental note to get the jeans washed. And well, throw the ruined shirt away. This was not the time for that however.

"Well then," She sat down on the edge of the armchair, looking questioning on the vampire. "What did you find out?" Pam didn´t answer, instead, her eyes narrowed and her head snapped up, as if she listened for something, feeling for something.

"Eric is awake," she stated and the next second, she was gone.

"Gotta love that vampire-speed," Sookie mumbled and rose to go after Pam. She jogged up the stairs and into her bedroom. Pam was crouching down by the wardrobe, trying to convince a struggling Eric to allow her to help him sit up.

"Pam, I´m fine, stop fussing" Eric was obviously tired of being the patient and tried to push her hands off. He made an attempt to sit up but didn´t manage more than a few inches on his elbows before slumping back down.

"For fucks sake, that´s enough," Pam snorted and grabbed him firmly by the shoulders and pulled him up to sitting position, leaning against the wall.

"Believe me Pam, when I get out of this fucking closet, you are dead." Eric muttered and glared at her.

"Well I already am dead, so that wouldn´t be much of a loss," Pam smirked. Sookie felt quite a relieve over their nagging, it was a clear sign of that things were starting to go back to normal. She took a good look at Eric´s bandaged torso, for pure medical reasons of course, and wondered if the wounds had healed. Since he was able to sit up, even though it was with help from the wardrobe´s wall, she hoped that they were at least a bit better.

"How are the injuries?" she decided to ask instead of just staring at him, or… she could ask and stare at him…

"Better," Eric answered and grinned as he noted her looks at his chest. "But I doubt you can see that through the bandages." Sookie felt how she blushed a little and her eyes immediately snapped to his face. The mischievous look in his eyes was back, for which she was grateful, but behind that, there was something else. It was almost undetectable in the ice blue orbs but there was a streak of something more. Maybe it was sadness, maybe it was pain from the wounds. She tried to figure it out which, but suddenly it was gone. She could just have imagined it, maybe she was overanalyzing things to confirm that he actually had missed her.

"The one in my chest has not healed yet, but the other ones are almost completely healed," Eric turned to Pam and she nodded, seemingly happy with the improvement.

"That´s good," she said and rose from the floor to sit on the edge of the wardrobe, "I got some news to, I think I may know what the man who attacked you are." Both Eric and Sookie focused on Pam as she spoke. "I think he´s a vampire slayer."

"Pam don´t be ridiculous, the few `slayers´ that actually existed all those years ago are long gone" Eric gave her a crooked smile and raised an eyebrow

"A slayer," Sookie felt utterly confused. "You mean like Buffy?"

"Oh shut up, the pair of you," Pam snorted "Yes it´s true that the pathetic ones that called themselves slayers in the middle ages were killed, but that doesn´t mean there are no new ones. And no Sookie," she gave the waitress a killing look, "not like fucking Buffy"

"Don´t you think this is a little farfetched?" Eric asked, locking very skeptical.

"Eric please listen," Pam sighed "Just think about it. He was unnaturally strong, not a were, not a vampire. You got a better explanation?" Eric was quiet for a moment, deep in thoughts.

"I haven´t met a slayer in over seven hundred years," he shook his head slowly "But I guess that you have a point." Silence again. "Pam, I have to barrow your phone," Eric then said and reached out a hand. Pam handed him her cellphone and looked questioning at her maker.

"I´m going to call Leonard" Eric said as he dialed a number "he´s the sheriff of area three, almost as old as I am. A few years ago, he dealt with a series of brutal murders and kidnappings of highly ranked vampires in his area. They were never solved, and after eliminating the possibility of werewolves or other vampires, the leads ran out. However, it fits in quite well with our situation." He put the phone to his ear and motioned for Pam to leave the room. She rose immediately and whisked her hand for Sookie to follow her out. Sookie let out a deep sigh, she was getting very tired of being pushed around in her own house, she but realized complaining would be incredibly stupid. She closed the door behind them and turned to Pam.

"How did you find out so much in that short time?" She had to ask. Sunrise had only been an hour away when Pam had left last morning.

"I stayed up a few hours to investigate a little," Pam said simply "The person who attacked Eric couldn´t have been were, or shifter. They would´ve been in their animal form, since that´s when they are the strongest. It couldn´t have been a vampire, since he had a beating heart and didn´t show fangs. That´s when the slayer idea popped into my head, and sure I knew Eric would think it was ridiculous, but that´s the only explanation for the unnatural strength."

"So you mean slayers are some kind of supernatural creatures?" Sookie furrowed her brow and wondered silently how many weirdos there actually were out there. Vampires, shifters, werewolves, maenads, fairies… she wouldn't even be surprised if she suddenly ran into a unicorn.

"Not really," Pam said, "but in the old days, when there actually were slayers, they developed an unnatural strength by drinking enormous amounts of vampire blood."

"But what about V-addicts?" Sookie wondered "They don't develop that kind of strength. At least not for long."

"I´m not talking drops, I´m talking gallons. Many gallons." Pam sounded grave and Sookie could understand why. The whole V-buissniess was definitely something all vampires despised, and if they got killed in the process, well that didn´t exactly make things better.

"So you mean…" Sookie wasn´t sure if she wanted the continuation.

"They often tried to drain the vampires before killing them. It´s a hard job at first, but once you´ve had a lot of the blood, it got easier to overpower them."

"How come they all died?"

"Oh what do you think?" Pam rolled her eyes "As soon as the slayers got a little too cocky and started going on killing-sprees, the vampires retaliated and killed them all."

"Okay, I get it," Sookie said and after that, they were both silent. Sookie felt very overwhelmed and anxious over what she´d heard. This didn´t bode well for Eric…

"Pam, get in here," Eric´s voice broke the silence and the two women walked back into the bedroom. Eric was sitting in the same position they´d left him in, seemingly in deep thoughts.

"Seems like you might be right Pam," Eric said but didn´t release his stare at the wall. "Apparently Leonard eventually found one of the kidnapped vampires, and from the pretty unclear description he got, it actually sounds like we might be dealing with our first slayer since the fourteenth century."

"So why the fuck didn´t they tell us about that years ago?" Pam sounded furious "It would´ve been fucking useful to know! It´s a fucking disaster!"

"I think that´s the point," Eric gave her a calm look "How do you think people would react if they found out there actually were someone to hire just to kill vampires? It was simply easier to just pretend like everything was normal, and hope that the slayer would get himself killed. No such luck apparently."

"How come not more vampires have been targeted?"Sookie decided to join the conversation.

"Hire a slayer does not come cheep," Eric turned to look at her "and it´s not exactly a business you want to get involved in."

"How do you mean?"

"Slayers are bounty-hunters. Ruthless, sadistic men who´s loyalty lie where the money is," A tone off disgust could be traced in Eric´s calm voice "You don´t pay them, well that´s just your fucking problem, you won´t be alive for much longer that´s for sure."

"So," Sookie made an inquiring gesture "what kind of people do actually hire these slayers?"

"Well that´s the fun part," Eric chuckled grimly "Mostly other vampires. They are pretty much the only ones who have both motives and are rich enough to pay. This doesn´t boil down to some kind of vampire-hate, it´s all about money. Vampires have a way to get into conflicts with each other," Oh boy do they, Sookie thought to herself, "and a great way around all political consequences you can get into for killing a king or a queen for example, is to just hire someone to do it for you. Slayers are probably great for that. Since they work alone and most people doesn´t even know they exist, they are quite hard to catch," Eric finished off and sighed.

"Oh that´s just fucking great!" Pam exclaimed and folded her arms together in an angry movement "What is with you that gives others the extreme urge to kill you all the time?" Sookie knew for sure that Pam´s anger was pure worry for her maker, but Eric ignored her comment.

"I will go and talk to the queen, the one of her minions that answered the fake phone call might have a telephone number, that would give me somewhere to start," Eric made an attempt to reach out for the bag Pam had placed on the floor next to the wardrobe. Pam snatched it away and gave him an outraged look.

"You got to be kidding me!" she was almost shouting now and Sookie jumped slightly at the outfall. Pam´s emotions were surely off balance. "You are not going anywhere! You haven´t even healed."

"Pam!" Eric raised his voice for the first time that evening "I am your maker and you are in no position to question my decisions."

"But,"

"Enough Pam," he gave her a warning look. "I need to deal with this."

"Snälla Eric," **Please Eric,** Pam suddenly kneeled beside the wardrobe and looked pleadingly at her maker "Du får inte gå. Du kan inte försvara dig om du blir attackerad igen. Du dog nästan förra gången och jag kan inte förlora dig." **You can´t go. You won´t be able to protect yourself if you get attacked again. You almost died last time and I cant´t loose you** A tear made its way down her cheek and Eric´s anger seemed to ease. He put a hand on her cheek and wiped the tear away. Sookie felt like she was intruding this very emotional moment between maker and child, but she wasn´t sure what to do. Maybe she should leave… but she felt like that would be weird to, so she stayed, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible.

"Ta det lugnt Pam," **calm down Pam** Eric had lowered his voice to sooth her "Du har rätt, jag borde nog stanna tills jag har läkt helt." **You´re right, I should probably stay until I´m completely healed.** Pam put her arms around him to give him a careful hug. Sookie was surprised at the affectionate gesture, but smiled to herself.

"Jag måste bara se till att Sookie inte blir helt hysterisk," **I´ll just have to make sure Sookie doesn´t get completely hysterical.** That was the first thing Sookie understood. Her name. She couldn´t help but wonder what Eric was saying about her. "Jag har inte särskilt mycket emot att stanna här, men jag vet inte om om hon är så särskilt glad över att ha mig i sitt hus." **I don't really mind staying here, but I´m not sure she´s all that happy with having me in her house**. The conversation had definitely taken a lighter turn, because Pam laughed slightly and got to her feet again.

"Ja det är hennes problem i så fall. Så jävla mycket kan det väl inte störa henne att ha dig liggandes i hennes garderob." **Well that´s her problem then. It can´t bother her that fucking much to have you lying in her wardrobe.** Sookie wished they would stop speaking Swedish, it was very uncomfortable not understanding what was going on. She was on the verge of saying something about it when suddenly Eric went back to English.

"I hope it´s not too much trouble Sookie, but Pam has made me realize that it would be very unwise for me to leave in this condition. Would you mind me staying here until I´ve healed?" Eric looked stoic. It was impossible for Sookie to see if it was a decision he was happy about or if it was forced. But he was Pam´s maker. She couldn´t force him to stay right? Sookie found herself hoping that he stayed because he wanted to.

"No, it´s fine. You can stay," she nodded "But no funny business," she couldn´t help adding. Okay, she had been awful to him. Okay, he might have been missing her, and deeply inside, she´d probably missed him as well. Okay, he was injured and couldn´t actually move much without help. BUT he was still Eric.

"I promise to be at my best behavior," Eric smirked but Pam gave her a meaning "remember what I told you- look". Sookie ignored it, this was her house, therefore her rules.

"I´ll go to the queen," Pam decided and looked to Eric for approval. He gave her a nod. "As queen it´s her fucking duty to help out on stuff like this." She snorted and made her way to the door.

"Don´t count on it," Eric raised his eyebrows in a very skeptical frown. "She would probably be more concerned if you hid her dices and yahtzee-pad."

"We´ll just have a talk then," Pam threw her hair back and smiled, "Woman to woman." And she was gone. Eric and Sookie were alone again.

**So, we´re getting in quite deep in the mystery. Who wants Eric dead this time? You´ll just have to wait and see (laughs slightly evil). It might seem strange that I used so much Swedish, but that´s just because I didn´t want Sookie to hear. Though I´ve translated it for you of course;)To something else. As I´m sure you noted, I didn´t make Sookie and Eric hook up just BANG, because as nice as that would be, that just wouldn´t fit in with Sookie being super stubborn and Eric being super closed off. Let´s see if they eventually can overlook their problems, shall we? The next chapter will probably be Eric POV, or the one after that. Point being, an Eric POV is coming up. That and some alone time between our favorite blonds. End of super long author note. oh and with Buffy, I meant Buffy the vampire slayer. you know, the TV-series. And you´ll get to know more about the slayer later. so, now I´m done**

**Hope you enjoyed, and please review**


	9. Chapter 9

**Your reviews are the best I can't say it enough:D Enjoy the new chapter.**

**P.S as one of my great reviewers noted, yes, I am Swedish. So if you find some really... weird spelling or grammatical mistakes, that's why. Though I'm doing my best to keep that stuff away. Hopefully I'm doing okay;)  
**

_Chapter 9_

_Sweden ca 1300 _

_The night was cold, a strong wind whistled through the trees' branches, bending the more vital ones and mercilessly breaking the dry, older ones. In the darkness, the dry leaves' golden colour was disguised, but for those who could see them, they showed that it was now fall. From time to time, the wind broke a leaf free, and sent it swirling away through the darkness, eventually landing on the damp ground. Through the compact darkness in the deep woods, a flickering light could be seen. The light came from a crackling fire, which cleverly had been built right by a small hill that created some peace from the screaming wind._

_A man sat by a fire, staring into the flames. By his side, a leather sack had been tossed carelessly on the ground, causing the contents to be spread out for display. The flickering light from the fire illuminated the objects, shining in the sharp silver knifes and chains, and simply showing the rough wooden stakes. The man himself was only partly brightened by the fire, the face was in shadows. In his scarred hand, he held a mug from which he occasionally took a swig. The liquid in the steel jar was thick and dark red, and an outside viewer could never have guessed the content._

_From his place on a thick branch, high up in a near by tree, Eric could make out these things quite clearly, he also could figure out that the mug was filled with vampire blood, but he didn't understand what that meant._

_"Godric," he turned to his maker who sat on the branch next to him, staring down at the man below. "Why are we just sitting here?"_

_"Because, my child," Godric said in a low voice "I want you to know which things to be cautious about." Eric gave him a confused look and stared down at the man again, trying to find something except the silver and the stakes that he actually felt the least bit threatened by._

_"What do you mean?" he asked his maker as he couldn't find anything. "What is so special with this man?"_

_"The man we are watching is a slayer," Godric answered but didn't release his stare at the man. He was watching him with an awareness that could almost be taken as concern._

_"He doesn't seem like much," Eric furrowed his brow and turned his gaze to the man again._

_"Eric, I know he doesn't seem threatening to you," Godric looked gravely at him, "But believe me when I tell you that a slayer, is not someone you want to get into a fight with."_

_"But Godric," Eric started._

_"My child, promise me that if you ever meet a slayer, you will run," Godric's dark eyes bore into Eric, and the younger vampire felt that this was not something he should argue about. He nodded and his maker seemed to be satisfied._

_"Come," Godric rose and made a swift leap to another tree branch. "Let's go find a village." Eric took a last wondering glance at the man by the fire before following Godric into the darkness._

_End flashback_

"Eric?" Sookie stared questioning at him and Eric was pulled out of the memory. He turned his eyes to the blond woman sitting on the bed.

"What?"

"I asked how you've been? It's been a while."

Awful, Eric thought but gave her his usual smirk.

"I've been just fine, how about you?"

"I've been okay," she said and furrowed her brow, still looking questioning at him. It was an expression of disbelieve, as if she'd expected him to say something else entirely.

"Missed me?" He asked and arched an eyebrow.

"Oh you wish," she huffed but then she suddenly looked regretful. Eric was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with her. Did he really look so pitiful she had to walk that cautiously around his feelings? "I mean…" she shrugged slightly "I wasn't counting on it… but I guess… a little…" Eric had to strain himself not to look surprised.

"Well well Miss Stackhouse," he smiled crookedly "Am I right in my feeling that your hate for me slowly is starting to pass?"

"I've never hated you Eric," she said, still looking at him like he was an injured puppy.

"Stop looking at me like that," Eric snapped. He couldn't take those sad eyes. She was always sad with him. Or well, for most of the time, she was angry.

"Sorry for being concerned about you," Sookie hissed. Well she was back to angry then. "You know, most people would be grateful."

"I don't like being taken pity of Miss Stackhouse. You made it quite clear that you despised me the last time I saw you, and I don't expect you to feel any differently now," Eric said with an icy tone.

"I don't despise you Eric," Sookie tried, "I was just so upset over Bill… and I didn't think clear. I'm so sorry for making you feel bad, I didn't know,"

"I did not feel bad," Eric cut her off "I did not, _do_ not, feel anything." Lie. Huge lie.

"Why do you always say that?" Sookie exclaimed frustrated and got to her feet. "I know that it's not true!"

"How the hell do you know that?" Eric was unable to control his emotions. "Why do you think you know a single thing about me? You might not have noticed it, but the only time you talk to me is when you come to ask me for a favor or scream at me for something!" Low blow. He could see that the words struck Sookie where it hurt. She bit her lip and was about to storm out of the room, running away from her problems as always, but Eric couldn't let her. He made an attempt to grab her arm, but the sudden movement sent a brutal wave of pain through his chest and he slumped back down with an involuntary groan. Fuck. The wounds still hurt. Not as much as before, but enough to force him to remain in this fucking wardrobe. Sookie stopped herself and gave him a concerned look.

"Are you okay?" she asked and hesitated on the threshold.

"I'm fine," Eric said through gritted teeth and turned away to prevent her from seeing the pain in his face before straightening his features again.

"Of course you are," Sookie shook her head slowly and sighed. Her anger seemed to ease slightly and she and went over to rummage the bag Pam left on the floor. She pulled out the bottles of TrueBlood and left the room, every movement still annoyed and twitchy. Eric kept the façade up until her steppes faded away, when he was sure she was beyond earshot, he let out a shallow sigh. Most people would be grateful… of course he was fucking grateful. She'd probably saved his life. How come he always seemed to be in debt to this woman? If there was one way he did not want to get back into Sookie Stackhouse's life, this was it. He was weak, injured, and pathetic, not the way he wanted her to see him. He stared at the ceiling and cursed his negligence. Why had he let his guard down to let that slayer sneak up on him like that?

Suddenly, steppes approached from the stair and Eric straightened his features as Sookie entered the room. Her face had softened slightly but there was still a tension around her mouth. She was holding a bottle of heated TrueBlood in her hand and reached it out for him to take.

"You should drink," her voice was almost gentle again "And don't you even dare complaining about the taste." Eric considered the offered bottle for a moment before realizing that he probably should feed. He accepted it without a sound, but was silently thankful for Sookie deciding to not show of her most stubborn side at the moment. The synthetic blood tasted just as bad as always, but he gulped it down. He even managed to keep the gagging reflexes away as the strongly metal-tasting liquid went down his throat. At least he could swallow again, something to be thankful for. When he'd finished the bottle he handed it back to Sookie, expecting her to leave again. She didn't, she remained seated on the bed, studying her hands instead of looking at him. The tension in the room was thick. There were so many unsaid things between them, but Eric was not going take the first step here. Or the second for that matter. All the things he wanted to say to her was bottled up and safely locked away. I've missed you. I've been fucking miserable without you. I'm sorry for… for… I don't know! For fucking everything! He didn't say it of course. But he had to say something…

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," Eric mustered up all the strength he had to push away the pride and apologize. "You're right, I should be grateful for your help. I've done nothing to deserve it." He stared sternly at the wall, refusing to see her eyes well up with pity again.

"You've helped me so many times Eric," Sookie tried to catch his eye but he kept looking away "This is the least I can do." she gave him a soft smile and left the room. Eric forced himself not to look after her. She was so kind. So beautiful. How the hell was he suppose to make her understand? Sighing again, Eric sank further down in the pillows and wondered how the fuck he'd gotten himself into this mess.

**Sigh. How are these two ever going to get into some kind of understanding? Help me out here, who should give up this battle between wills first? Well, they are both trying, but they don't seem to get very far. Oh very well, at least they are talking. Hopefully they´ll do some more of that.**

**Thanks for reading and I'd love it if you took the time to review**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you, wonderful reviewers, for all the different opinions of Sookie and Eric's relationship. I really appreciate all the help. Though our favorite telepath and vampire has to wait until next chapter, here comes one about a creepy, ugly guy. Guess who?**

**Consider this as kind of an "extra chapter". I'll post the next one pretty soon. Probably around Wednesday. (yes, as you've noted, that is my favorite publishing date)**

**P.S just to make sure it's clear, this chapter is what's happening outside of the house during Eric and Sookie's conversation in the previous chapte**r.

_Chapter 10_

He wandered through the graveyard, keeping in the shadows the tombstones created on the ground. It was a night with a full moon, and the cloud free sky clearly showed all the millions of stars. He preferred it when the sky's light were hidden under thick clouds, it made the hunt easier. That was also why he always operated at night. All the vampire blood didn't only provide him with a superior strength, but also made it possible for him to see sharply even in complete darkness. He didn't want to be seen, that would only cause problems. Not that he would hesitate killing any people threatening to spoil his mission, but he would prefer if he could get through this as clean as always. Leaving a trail of bodies was stupid and would sooner or later lead the police or the vampire sheriffs to him. Killing unnecessary and unplanned was not how he'd survived in this business. That was how all his "colleges" had gotten killed. Well, that was seven hundred years ago. They got sloppy and ignorant, it was bound to happen. Of course you would get killed if you started going on fucking killing-sprees. He had laid low after that. As long as he kept up his enormous consummation of vampire-blood, he was basically immortal. Immortality was a gift, and he wouldn't throw that away. If you couldn't die of age, then it would just be fucking stupid to get yourself killed by a bunch of paranoid vampires. He had waited, just killing a vampire or two on occasion to keep up the effects the blood gave him, but he hadn't made a business of it. Several hundred years he let go by before slowly starting to offer his services as slayer again. This time, he was discrete. Every kill was clean, or well, it was impossible to kill a vampire without making a mess, but the evidence was always notoriously cleaned up. Every kidnapping was fast and well planned. He did it for the money, the joy of the hunt, the great satisfaction of hearing bones be crushed by a simple blow. And the blood of course. Though sometimes it was hard to keep control, that's why he almost ended up killing Northman, though he's orders had been to kidnap him.

To say that his current "boss" had been displeased to find out that he almost killed Northman would have been the understatement of the century. "I said I wanted him alive you fucking incompetent blood bag! You were suppose to bring him to me, so that I could kill him myself!" The vampire probably would have scared most men out of their minds, but he'd just snorted, which had served him a brutal scolding. If they would have been in the same room, he was pretty sure the vampire would've ripped his head off, so he was lucky they were on the phone. Normally he wouldn't have put up with such disrespect, but 50 000 dollars and blood from a thousand year old vampire was more important than pride at the moment. So he forced himself to put up with the vampire's arrogance. And the fact that he was clearly mad.

He was almost by the lawn behind the house now, and he changed his course to the woods. It was of utter importance not to be seen. The trees gave a compact darkness in which he would be practically invisible for any passers, and it would definitely impossible for the folks in the house to see him. He turned his sharp vision to the windows upstairs, a soft, warm light gleamed in one of them. A blond woman could be glanced behind the pane. She was talking to someone who he couldn't see, but her expression told him that she was in the middle of an argument. Sookie Stackhouse. Strange name really. Though from what he knew about her, she was a quite strange person too. Waitressing at that pathetic excuse for a bar, Merlotte's and hanging around vampires. She must be pretty stupid to help that fanger. Because he knew Northman was there. He had to be. That was also a thing he'd learned over the years. Always now your victim. At least if you're going to take down a thousand year old vampire. After the conversation he'd had with his "boss", he'd immediately returned to the woods, and since no vampire was to be found, the only possibility was that he'd gotten help. His thoughts had immediately turned to Sookie Stackhouse, who he knew had helped Northman in the past. She didn't live far away either, and so that's where he went. The fact that Northman had gotten out of the situation alive, or well, undead, wasn't only good for the vampire himself, but also fucking lucky for him. Sure, he could take down most vampires, _most_ vampires, but the guy he was working for at the moment was fucking old. And obviously crazy. Mad as a hatter. The reaction he'd gotten for _nearly_ killing Northman had been bad enough. What wouldn't have happened if he actually _had_ killed him? Next time, he wouldn't lose control. No matter how satisfying it had been to plunge the stake through the sheriff's ribs.

He sat down on the damp ground, deciding to go through his packing, just to be sure it was all in place. Four different silver chains, all of them thick and a hundred percent sterling silver. Further there were a collection of metal bottles. Two of them containing water mixed with silver particles. Incredibly useful he had noted. It weakened the vampires but didn't kill them. Well, at least not at once. The remaining two bottles had been filled with vampire blood, but now there was only half a bottle left. It was good a refill was within reach. Then there were the stakes. Sharp in the ends, but unpolished to let the raw wood create further damage. He finished off his inspection by picking up the favorite part in his collection, a silver knife that was sharp enough to draw blood by a simple nudge.

He rose to look at the house again. The woman was gone, she wasn't to be seen in the room, and no other windows were enlightened on this side of the house. For a moment he considered his alternatives. Option one was to just stay where he was, and simply trust in that he was right in his investigation and that Northman actually were there, but if he was wrong, as unlikely as that was, he would get a hell trying to explain that to his "boss". Therefore he decided on option number two, which was to take the risk and take a closer look at the house. He waited for another moment, just to make sure the coast was clear, before quietly making his way over the lawn. It didn't take many seconds for him to reach the building, and with a few swift tugs, he climbed up the façade to reach the window. He had been right. Lying in a wardrobe, weak and pathetic, was the feared vampire sheriff of area five. The blond vampire looked sad, the blue eyes staring into nothingness, completely unaware of being watched. It made him feel powerful, knowing that he'd reduced the vampire into such a frail creature. Though it wouldn't last long. Northman was probably almost healed by now, which was good. What was the fun in slaying if you didn't get the hunt? The thousand year old vampire had offered him resistance during their last fight and he didn't want to miss out on that. It would probably be an even bigger challenge this time, since he needed to get him alive… Alive was always a bit of a problem. There were ways of course. A vampire could survive with only one leg for example, and they got much easier to handle with only one. Rip of a leg or two and Northman would surely get more cooperative. With a smug grin, he jumped down from the façade and moved swiftly over the lawn back to the darkness under the trees. He would give the vampire a little more time and then… he grinned wider. How he loved his job.

**This chapter is to make us all hate the slayer just a little more. Because we should hate him. He's evil. And wants to hurt Eric. That makes him super-evil! I'm also giving tiny clues to who might have hired the killer. But they are really tiny. You will of course find out, sooner or later, and it will all make sense, more or less ;)**

**So, see you Wednesday, and then, Eric and Sookie are back in.**


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you for the reviews, I'm so glad you all hate the slayer, that means I've done a decent work portraying him. I won't deny, nor confirm any assumptions about who might have hired the slayer, but sure, if you want me to tell you who it is, you can always ask me in a review and I'll send you a message. But surely you don't want me to ruin the mystery;)

I know, I said I would post on Wednesday, but I got into some kind of super inspired bubble and wrote this chapter faster than I normally do. So here you go, read and enjoy!

Chapter 11

"You've helped me so many times Eric," Sookie tried to catch his eye but he kept looking away "This is the least I can do." she gave him a soft smile and left the room. Eric forced himself not to look after her. She was so kind. So beautiful. How the hell was he going to make her understand? Sighing again, Eric sank further down in the pillows and wondered how the fuck he'd gotten himself into this mess.

Sookie walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she collapsed on a chair. How was she going to fix this? Talking to Eric was basically like talking to a solid brick wall. He was right, the only time she ever had talked to him was… well not ever really She had mostly been shouting at him. She sighed deeply and rubbed her face, in a weak attempt to keep awake. All she wanted right now was to go to sleep, but she couldn't get the guilt out of her system. She would have to fix this somehow. Somewhere, deep inside, Eric had feelings. She knew she was stubborn, but for once, she would have to try pushing that away and be the bigger person. They needed to have some kind of talk. For that, Sookie decided, she needed energy. She made herself a cup of coffee. Coffee in the middle of the night, well her sleep pattern was once again ruined. Sitting down at her kitchen table again, she tried to sort things out. If she was going to try to talk to Eric about feelings, it would be quite good if she could figure out what her own feelings was. What did Eric mean to her? Well, he definitely meant something. It was something she couldn't quite grasp, but there were feelings. What they were, she couldn't say right now. She would just have to wait and see… She took a deep gulp of the hot coffee and as the liquid went down her throat, she could feel her mind awake. Though she guessed it was fifty percent psychological. She stared out the window, needing something to rest her eyes on, and frowned, as she noted that she barely could see over her porch. A ghostly fog clouded the lawn. Fog… maybe she could blame that for the strange atmosphere she could feel in the house. She'd had an eerie feeling all night. Something was gnawing in the back her head but she couldn't grasp what it was. No, it was probably nothing. It was the lack of sleep, and now this weird fog that played tricks on her mind.

A sharp telephone signal broke the silence and Sookie silently cursed. Why, oh why did people keep disturbing her in the middle of the night? As she picked up she realized why. It was Pam on the other side of the line.

"Hi Pam," she had to strain herself not to sound too exhausted "Any news from the queen?"

"Yes that's why I'm calling," Pam said "I've just spoken to her and since Eric got his phone ruined I had to call yours."

"So I guess you want to talk to Eric then," Sookie had already left the kitchen and started walking up the stairs

"Oh you just read my mind," Pam chuckled at the joke but Sookie just rolled her eyes. Not that Pam could see it.

"Eric," she opened the door to her bedroom and as she did, the vampire scooted up into sitting position. "Pam wants to talk to you," she said as she reached the phone to him. He accepted it with a nod.

"What did she say?" Eric went straight to the point, no time for small talk apparently. He was silent as Sookie heard Pam's voice as a faint blur as she spoke. She thought about leaving the room, but decided that since Eric made no indication of wanting to be left alone, she could as well stay and listen. Maybe it would be considered rude, but at the moment Sookie didn't have the energy to worry about manors.

"You've got to be kidding me," Eric suddenly snapped and Sookie jumped at the sharp tone. "I'll just have to go talk to her myself," he said, voice slightly calmer, after a moment of silence. Pam didn't seem to think that was such a good idea because Sookie heard how the vampire's voice grew louder through the phone. "Pam that's enough," Eric cut her of "I'm almost healed, I'll just wait another hour or so and go then." She wasn't satisfied with that answer either as she started to object loudly. "Pam, I'm going, end of discussion. I'll see you at Fangtasia afterwards," Eric finished off in a very "I'm-your-maker-I know-the-best- tone. "Yes, I'll be careful, bye," he then said in a more gentle tone before hanging up. Sookie waited for a moment, expecting some kind of explanation, but as none came, she decided to take the matter into own hands.

"So," she began "What's going on?"

"The queen wants me to, as she put it, `lie low for a while´" Eric said, a strained anger bubbling under the composed surface. It was obvious he wasn't very satisfied with the turnout of the conversation.

"As in…" Sookie motioned for him to continue.

"As in hide," Eric's said with distaste "Apparently she thought that the best way to deal with this was for me to just disappear for awhile. She had way more important things to do than dealing with slayers."

"But that's just stupid," Sookie exclaimed and stared in disbelieve at the blond vampire. She couldn't believe the Queen would be so oblivious. So ignorant. How the hell could she just turn on him like that? "Isn't it kind of her duty to protect you or something!" she looked inquiring at him. Eric made a small chuckle, as if just the idea was ridiculous.

"Technically, yes. But honestly, it would be better for her if I just died," Eric shrugged.

"What kind of Queen is she?" Sookie felt herself getting more and more worked up.

"Calm down Sookie," Eric said, voice calm and composed again "She has never been a good Queen. I'm going to take care of the slayer problem myself I just have to go talk to her first." He turned his attention away from her and started examining the bandaging, trying to find a way to get it off.

"But," Sookie tried but was interrupted.

"Could you just help me get all these bandages off," Eric asked as he couldn't seem to find the end of the long fabric strip.

"But are you sure that's a good idea?" she felt skeptical.

"Sookie, I don't need another Pam right now," Eric sighed and looked tiredly at her "Just help me okay?" Oh, who could say no? Sookie gave up and crouched down beside the wardrobe. She started to gently unwrap the bandages and as more of Eric's torso became visible, she felt relieve well over her. The wounds had healed almost entirely, leaving only a slightly tender area on his chest.

"See," Eric grinned "I'm back to my incredibly handsome self."

"Well aren't some of us overly confident," Sookie laughed slightly. It felt deliberating. Maybe the "big talk" could wait just a little. She wasn't sure she had the energy for it this particular evening. It would probably be better if she got to sleep and Eric got to gather himself a bit. Even though he put up his usual calm façade, he had been through a lot, and she felt that it probably would do him some good to just feel like things were getting back to normal. Yes, she decided, they could keep it light just for awhile.

"Would you like me to warm you a TrueBlood?" she asked and rose. It was mostly to get out of the room, too keep herself from staring at Eric who currently was testing his strength by standing up in the closet.

"As vile as that stuff may be," Eric said as he started going through the bag Pam left there to find some clothes "I guess it would be wise to feed before I leave." Sookie immediately left the room and went downstairs. When she returned to the bedroom, Eric was just pulling a black wife beater over his head. His hair got all tousled and she smiled to herself at the cute sight. She decided that she was allowed to think that it looked cute without any further complications.

"Here you go," she reached the bottle to him but before he had a chance to grab it, she regretted it and pulled back "You know what, I just have to taste it and check if it really is that bad," she explained.

"Oh well, you'll regret that," Eric said bemused and sat down on the bed to study her.

"Can't be that bad," Sookie shrugged and brought the bottle to her lips. She took a small gulp and grimaced. It did taste awful. More than awful… her face contorted in disgust and Eric chuckled.

"Told you," he said and smirked.

"Okay I admit it," she said and swallowed a few times, trying to get the metal taste out of her mouth "It does taste awful."

"If you're finished pointing out how disgusting what I'm about to drink is," Eric reached out for the bottle "I need to try getting it down." Sookie hesitated. It didn't feel right to make Eric drink something that tasted so bad. Especially since he still wasn't completely healed. Real blood would be much better.

"You could feed from me if you want to," she said before she could think any further.

"Why would you allow me to do that?" Eric said and moved his eyes from the bottle to her.

"Because you need it to get your strength back," Sookie began, "I- I don't want anything to happen to you." Eric looked at her, still with a skeptical, slightly suspicious look in his eyes.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I care about you, even though you don't think I do," Sookie blurted out.

She held her breath as she awaited Eric's reaction. He didn't say anything, made no smug comment, he just took a gentle grip of her waist and lifted her to sit in his lap on the bed. He softly brushed away her hair from her shoulder, exposing her neck. Slowly, almost hesitantly his cold lips traced the skin on her neck, and she felt a shudder down her spine, though it wasn't an unpleasant one. He looked up at her, silently asking for permission with his eyes. She gave a small nod and after a moment, she felt how he carefully sank his fangs down her flesh. The act was surprisingly gentle, and there was only a brief moment of pain. As Eric started to drink, he wrapped his arms around her and Sookie felt herself relax completely in his hold. This wasn't logical. Of all the things in the world, this was the most illogical, but right now…. she didn't care. This should feel awkward and weird but it didn't. It felt… right. Like she was meant to be in his arms. Like she belonged there… She slowly brought a hand to his hair, hesitating a moment before starting to run her fingers through the blond locks. It wasn't something she'd planned to do, none of this was, but it was like her hands were acting on their own accords. Eric pulled her closer. He took a few more gulps before gingerly licking the wounds closed, but he didn't pull back from her neck. He took a deep, unneeded breath, seemingly inhaling her scent. Sookie kept stroking his hair, just as unwilling to break this new, special contact. It was like they were engulfed in a warm, safe bubble, where only they existed. There were no doubts, no complications, no thoughts of that this was Eric Northman, cunning and ruthless vampire sheriff. What had happened in the past, and what might happen in the future wasn't important. Not now.

"Sookie," Eric began, still with his face buried in her neck "I-I just wanted to tell you…" he began, but stopped himself as Sookie let out a loud gasp. She'd suddenly been brutally torn out of their bubble as she was overwhelmed by an eerie feeling of something being very wrong. In her mind, she could hear a faint echo of a pained scream. It was Eric screaming, and the agonized sound was mixed with a sickening noise of bones breaking and flesh tearing apart. Her heart raced in panic as she realized that it was a blurred vision of someone's mind. In a swift leap, she broke free from Eric's arms and ran to the window, she felt it as she was forced there by an unknown power.

"Sookie, what are you doing?" a slight trace of hurt was heard in Eric's voice as he questioned her sudden outburst. Sookie didn't answer. She just pressed her face against the window pane, struggling to get a clear view through the fog. An ice cold lump of fear settled in the pit of her stomach as she gazed over her lawn and saw a man. She couldn't make out the exact features through the milky fog that clouded the lawn, but she saw one thing. The man was looking directly at her. He sneered broadly and raised a hand in a greeting gesture. Sookie backed away from the window, eyes wide in fear. That could only be one person…

"Sookie, what's wrong?" Eric got to his feet and grabbed her by the shoulders turning her to look at him.

"There's someone outside," she breathed out "I think it's the slayer." Eric froze. For a second, he just stood there, staring at her. Then, he moved in vampire speed to the window and looked out.

"There's no one there," he shook his head and backed away from the window, "are you sure you didn't just imagine it?"

"Yes I'm sure," Sookie said frustrated "He was looking right at me!" Before Eric could answer, the window flew open. Sookie shrieked in shock and jumped backwards, and Eric growled low and bared his fangs. Crouching in the window, was a brawny man with the most scarred and contorted face Sookie had ever seen.

"Hello there Northman," the slayer smirked cruelly and pulled out a silver chain which he let dangle from his scarred hand. "Wanna come out and play?"

**Oh no you didn't! Yes I did! Cliffhanger. I like them. They are nice don't you think? But I'll try to not torture you for too long, I'll do my best to update quickly.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, I wrote this instead of studying to a gigantic test I'm taking tomorrow, so I really hope you like it ;) The POVs in this shifts a little in the end, but it's not confusing, there were many feelings I wanted to put in. Read and enjoy.**

_Chapter 12 _

_"There's someone outside," she breathed out "I think it's the slayer." Eric froze. For a second, he just stood there, staring at her. Then, he moved in vampire speed to the window and looked out._

_"There's no one there," he shook his head and backed away from the window, "are you sure you didn't just imagine it?"_

_"Yes I'm sure," Sookie said frustrated "He was looking right at me!" Before Eric could answer, the window flew open. Sookie shrieked in shock and jumped backwards, and Eric growled low and bared his fangs. Crouching in the window, was a brawny man with the most scarred and contorted face Sookie had ever seen._

_"Hello there Northman," the slayer smirked cruelly and pulled out a silver chain which he let dangle from his scarred hand. "Wanna come out and play?"_

Eric felt it as if a hand had just twisted his insides. Fucking hell. He was healed alright by now, but he had no idea how he was going to take down this guy. Last time he'd ended up half dead with a stake through his stomach. And now Sookie was here. Now he'd dragged her into this mess. As the slayer leaped down from the window and into the room, Eric reacted instinctual by pushing Sookie behind him in a protective gesture. The hell he was going to let him hurt her. Or even come close.

"Oh don't worry," the slayer chuckled "I won't hurt your little friend. Just come with me and we'll have this done in no time." He took a step forward, and Eric decided that the only chance he had was to be the one attacking first this time. He lounged at the slayer, and the force sent them hurtling backwards, flying through the open window. He could hear Sookie scream as they crashed towards the ground and as soon as they landed with a loud thump, Eric pinned the currently disoriented slayer to the ground.

"Who sent you?" He snarled viciously. The slayer just laughed and broke free from Eric's hands, taking a hard grip around his waist and slamming the vampire in the ground. Eric growled and struggled to get free but the slayer was relentless.

"Just give up vampire," the slayer hissed as he swiftly wrapped the silver chain tightly around Eric's wrists, "You can't win this." Eric roared in pain and anger as the silver dug deeply into his flesh, but didn't stop his violent fight to break loose. With all his strength, he squirmed a leg free and kicked the slayer off him, sending him crashing into the house wall.

"Eric!" Sookie had rushed out of the house and was standing on the porch, staring terrified at the scene.

"Stay back Sookie!" Eric growled at her as he struggled to his feet, desperately fighting against the silver which mercilessly weakened him. The slayer had recovered quickly from the attack and was on his feet again. As soon as he was of the ground, he made an outfall towards Eric and grasped him roughly by his hips, hard enough to fill the air with the sound of bones breaking. With a roar, he tossed the vampire as if he was nothing but a rag doll and Eric sailed through the air, landing on the ground in a crumpled heap. He didn't have a chance to get up this time, the slayer appeared above him and wrapped a silver chain around his neck. Eric was completely helpless now, silver straining his wrists and his legs barely functional due to the broken bones. The slayer yanked in the chain and hauled Eric over his shoulders, still treating the all powerful vampire like he was made of air.

"No ERIC!" Sookie screamed in panic. Eric's pain was getting too much for her and suddenly, all her emotions, the panic and fear, transformed into anger. She couldn't just stand here and watch! She felt the energy building up, tingling and burning. It filled her mind, sending waves of power through her arms and hands, which started to glow. All the energy streamed out and concentrated to her palms and as she threw out her hands before her, the light burst out in a blinding wave, rushing through the air and hitting the slayer straight in the chest. His eyes widened in shock as he was lounged backwards, and as he landed on the ground, his whole body collapsed into itself, turning into a goopy heap of bloody remains. Sookie felt a pang of shock going all through her body. She stared at her hands, bewildered by the power she had just preformed. That was way more than she had expected. Never before had the light been that strong or had that effect. Maybe it was the burning fury she had felt that had caused it. She suddenly felt afraid. What if she had missed? Just an inch in the wrong direction and she would've hit Eric! She didn't wait another second. She rushed over the lawn towards Eric, who was lying facedown in the giant blood puddle that used to be the slayer.

"Oh God, Eric," she crouched down beside him rolled him over to free him from the silver chains. She quickly tore them of and threw them away, as if only their presence could hurt him.

"What… happened?" He gasped, and struggled get up.

"I- I don't really know," Sookie answered unfocused as she helped him get into sitting position. She didn't give a rat's ass about her fay-powers right now, she just wanted to stare at Eric, examine him and make sure he was okay. She felt an indescribable relieve as she watched the wounds the chains had left heal.

"What did you do?" The vampire stared overwhelmed at the bloody mess that only a minute ago had been a man.

"I did some fay-stuff… thing. Doesn't matter right now. Are you okay?" She franticly ran her shaking hands over his bloodied arms and neck, looking for more injuries.

"Sookie, it's okay," Eric gently took her hands in his, stopping her nervous exam. "I'm just a little beaten up that's all."

"But all the blood..."

"As you may have noted, I'm sitting in a giant puddle of slayer here," he gave her a crooked smile. "Most of this is not my blood." With that, he let go of her hands and staggered to his feet, swaying slightly as he did.

"Broken bones?" Sookie asked, not willing to give up on her nurse-role just yet.

"They are healing up," Eric assured her as he stretched his legs, determining the damage.

"You sure?" Sookie couldn't understand how Eric could be so calm. She had never been so scared in her whole life, and that said a lot. What if she'd lost him? She couldn't. She knew that now.

"Stop fussing," Eric sighed but still smiled at her. "I'll be fine."

"Okay good, cuz then I can do this," Sookie stated before throwing her arms around him and pulling him into a tight hug, burying her face in his bloodied chest. She hadn't lost him. Eric was okay.

Eric was momentarily stunned by the sudden act of affection from Sookie, but soon brought his arms around her, hugging her back. He buried his face in her soft, blond hair inhaling the intoxicating scent. She looked up at him, resting her forehead against his and smiled. How he loved that smile. She had rarely showed it to him in the past, those occasions could be counted on one hand. It spread a warmth through his battered body. He couldn't even feel the pain from the broken bones that yet had to heal.

Her face was so close, her lips barely inches from his. Eric did not dare to move. It felt like a dream. A perfect dream from which he could wake up any moment.

"I'm getting you all bloody," he whispered and slowly ran a hand up over her back.

"I couldn't care less," Sookie mumbled back and put a hand on his head, running her fingers through his hair and pulling his face even closer to hers. So close… he had to take this chance. Eric leaned down and closed the barely existing distance between them, and their lips finally met. He kissed her softly, hesitantly at first, but as she answered the kiss, it grew deep and passionate. Eric forgot everything else. The slayer, the attack, the big, fucking mess he was in. At this moment, the only thing that mattered was that Sookie finally was in his arms. This moment, was perfect.

**So, did you like it? Review please:)**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm so sorry for the huge delay. I've been hit by a major writer's block! Nothing works at the moment, and it took forever to get this chapter working alright. And it turned out short. Sorry for that.**

_Chapter 13_

_She was surrounded by darkness, a cold nothingness. But no, it wasn't nothing. A soft wind whistled around her, and the sound of tree branches creaking was heard above her. Slowly, the silhouettes of trees appeared around her, and it didn't take long until her surroundings had turned into a forest. Damp, cold moss covered the ground, and a full moon lit up the pine trees that stretched up to the sky. A wolf's eerie howl echoed through the dusk, and she suddenly felt that she needed to run. Her feet carried her over the soft moss, the white dress she was clad in flew around her legs. She wasn't sure why she was running, but she knew that she needed to find someone. Someone was in danger, but she couldn't for her life understand who it was. The wolf's howling followed her as she rushed through the darkness, it was like it tried to tell her something. A cruel, scornful laugh suddenly accompanied the howling, the voice was familiar… and then a scream, that to, in another familiar voice. It sent a pang of fear through her and she stopped abruptly, because somehow she knew, it was too late. "You lost him." the laughing voice whispered, it hissed through the darkness like an evil wind, "You lost him…"_

"No!" Sookie bolted awake with a shrilled scream. She looked franticly around the room, gasping for air in her panic. There was no forest. No howls. No screams. She was in a bed, but it wasn't her own… what the hell?

"What is going on?" Pam was suddenly standing in the door, a questioning look on her face. Pam… now she remembered. Eric had taken her to his progeny's home after the whole slayer-incident, since her house hadn't felt quite safe, and Eric's own house definitely wasn't safe.

"Nothing," Sookie smiled quickly and shook her head to further dismiss any suspicions,"Is Eric back yet?" Eric had left as soon as he'd made sure Sookie would be safe, since he wanted to get the inevitable conversation with the Queen over with. He hadn't even bothered changing out of his blood drenched clothes, meaning that if he accidently got some blood on her furniture, it wouldn't be that much of a loss, and the sooner he got to the Queen, the sooner he could get back.

"You've only slept one hour," Pam smirked, "I promise that he'll come to you the minute he's back."

"Okay," Sookie said and Pam left the room. Sookie yawned and glanced at the watch on the nightstand, four in the morning. She should get back to sleep, but the dream was hard to shake off. She tried to calm herself down by thinking about something nicer. Like the kiss with Eric. That immediately brought a wide smile to her face. It had been so perfect, even though under such un-perfect circumstances, Eric being covered in blood and slayer goo up to their ankles. It had brought up so many feelings, but Sookie wasn't sure what it would lead to. They hadn't exactly had a chance to talk, she had fallen asleep while Eric flew her here (yes, it was that relaxing), but she hoped that when he came back from the Queen, they could have some more time together. She hoped that the kiss had meant something for Eric too. It felt like it had… but with Eric, one could never be sure. Sookie realized that these thoughts didn't bring her any closer to sleep, and after tossing and turning for awhile longer, she gave up and got out of the bed. She gazed around the room, and discovered a window. Huh. Windows wasn't exactly a thing you expected to find in a vampire's bedroom. Then again, she was pretty sure Pam slept in some super secret hidyhole somewhere. The bedroom was placed on the second floor in Pam's big house, and through the window, she had a good view of the garden, which was truly beautiful. Lush grass covered the ground, and there was several rose bushes, covered with big flowers. Sookie guessed that it was a work of a very skilled gardener, since she couldn't really see Pam crawling around in the dirt, planting roses and ruining her manicure. She smiled at the thought of the neat, Prada- wearing vampire, trimming bushes and mowing the lawn. After scanning the garden for awhile longer, she discovered a small pond with a fountain, placed in the furthest corner. She hadn't noted it at first, due to the darkness, but as she studied it, a strange glow started to form by the edge. It soon transformed into a bright light, and Sookie immediately knew that she was meant to follow it. She quietly snuck out of the room and down the stairs, just hoping that Pam was busy enough with… well whatever she was doing, to not hear her. When downstairs, she opened the back door and stepped out into the darkness. The grass was cold and damp under her bare feet, and she shuddered slightly in the thin nightgown Pam had lent her. She made her way over the lawn, towards the pond and the light. Any normal person would've kept well away from the clearly supernatural glow, but it didn't seem threatening to Sookie. Quite the opposite actually. It felt safe. She came closer, and as she did, the light faded, and instead there was a woman wearing a long white dress.

"Claudine!" Sookie exclaimed surprised as she caught eye of her fairy godmother sitting on the edge of the low wall that surrounded the pond. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to check in on you," the fairy smiled and rose. "I'm worrying about you."

"Why?" Sookie wondered, though she was pretty sure it had something to do with…

"Eric Northman," Claudine started. Well that was what she'd guessed. It looked like the fairy was about to start giving a long speech about how vampires weren't trustworthy, but Sookie was not in the mood for that at the moment. It wasn't what she needed.

"You worry too much," she averted. If Claudine was here, then she could ask about the way her powers had acted previously. That would be much more useful than hearing her complaining about vampires.

"About your powers?" Claudiene luckily thought this question was more important than nagging on her for once again getting herself into vampire-trouble.

"Yes," Sookie nodded "What is up with them?"

"They are just getting stronger, that is all," Claudine said simply.

"But why?"

"Have you ever heard the expression, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?"

"Oh I didn't know you could make jokes," Sookie giggled slightly

"I got my moments," Claudine smiled and shrugged, "But I'm also serious. You've been through a lot, and that brings out new things of your powers."

"Well that will come in handy if I learn to control them," Sookie mumbled.

"It will indeed," the fairy agreed "You might also have noted the dreams,"

"Dreams," Sookie suddenly felt a slight unease "What dreams?"

"Haven't you had any dreams that just seem to mean something? Tries to tell you something?"

"Well," Sookie thought about the dream she had just had, shuddering as she did. "One... but what has dreams to do with my powers?"

"They are a kind of vision. A glance into the future. It's an ability fairies sometime can develop,"

"No," Sookie quickly interrupted, unwilling to believe in what she was hearing. "No it was just a weird dream, nothing else."

"Sookie, you must accept this part of yourself," Claudine said, ever so mysteriously "Embrace your powers, they are an important part of you," she slowly backed away, and Sookie got a strong feeling of that her godmother thought that she'd done her part now.

"No!" she protested, "You can't leave, I got so many questions!" Oh, like that would help. Of course Claudine didn't listen, she was already gone with a pop. Sookie was left, frustrated, confused, and worried. Why did Claudine have to be so damn cryptic? She stayed there by the pond for a moment, staring at the fountain and trying to sort out all the questions and feelings that swirled in her mind. If Claudine was right, and the dream actually was some kind of prophecy, then, it was definitely not a good one. It was not as much what had happened in the dream as the feeling it had given her, that horrible feeling of loss as she heard the scream. The wolf seemed important. As well as that voice. It was so familiar! Why couldn't she place it… that southern accent… Her guts went cold. She did know that voice… but she hadn't thought she'd ever hear it again… it was the voice of Russell Edgington.

**Oh NO! that can't be good! More about that in the next chapter.**

**Okay, this is the deal: I'm still struggling with writing anything at all. I know where I want this story to go. I know what I need to do to get it there. Problem is, I can't seem to get it out of my head and onto the screen. Deep sigh. Well, in the next chapter, there will be much, much more Eric/Sookie action, talk… and possibly other stuff…;) I'll just have to try snap out of my writing-problems.**


	14. Chapter 14

**My muse has returned to me! I hope that she decides to stay. I want to thank you for the support in your reviews, and I'm so glad that you are still with me, and that you like the story.**

_Chapter 14_

Eric flew through the air in supernatural speed, letting the cool night wind brush some of the blood smeared over his body. Except fucking and draining, flying was the best way to get an emotional let out. He was in desperate need of one, since he was furious. The queen had been even more obnoxious and irresponsible than usual, and he'd had to seriously strain himself not to rip her head off. That would've been very unwise at this point, the last thing he needed was more problems. She had advised -no make that commanded- him to simply `go hide for awhile´. Just the idea was ridiculous, that he Eric Northman would hide from something, but he honestly didn't know what to do. He couldn't go after whoever was wanting him dead, since he had no idea who it might be. And he couldn't stay here either, since he'd dragged Sookie into this mess. What if whoever was after him, came after her as well? He would have to figure something out, and fast.

He decided that it was necessary to visit his own house before returning to Pam. He needed to get all this blood of him, and get clean clothes. Nothing unexpected happened, and so he could get back to his progeny's house one hour before sunrise.

He landed outside Pam's home with a soundless thump, and gave door a short knock before stepping inside. Pam came to meet him in the hall, "I can see that you've gotten all of that blood off you," she smirked slightly. He smiled back at her. She'd had quite a few bewildering days, his child, and he was glad that she dealt so well with it all.

"Where is Sookie?" he asked and Pam's grin widened.

"Upstairs in my `guest´ bedroom," she answered "She's been asking after you," Eric didn't answer, but was quick to disappear up the stairs to prevent her from seeing the idiotic smile that went across his face. He reached the bedroom in no time and knocked on the door. When there was no answer, he made the conclusion that she was asleep. After a moment of hesitation, he carefully opened the door and looked inside. There was no one there. Eric almost felt panic arise, but he pushed it away and acted rationally. Sookie could be anywhere in the house, it was just stupid to think the worst. He searched through the rooms on the floor in just seconds. No sign of her.

"Pam!" Eric shouted as he rushed down the stairs. "Sookie is not here." Pam just looked utterly confused.

"She was here just half an hour ago," she said and shook her head.

"Well she is not here now!" Eric almost screamed in her face, the panic getting the best of him. Different scenarios played in his mind. Sookie kidnapped. Sookie injured. Sookie dead. No no no. This could not be happening. After everything he'd done to protect her, when he finally could have her, she could not be gone. Without a second thought, Eric was out the door and in the gigantic garden. Why would Sookie be here? He didn't know, but he wasn't acting rationally any longer. The side of the garden that faced the road was empty, and Eric rushed to the back side instead. As he turned the corner, something immediately caught his eye. Sookie was standing by the small pond in the furthest corner of the garden, her face turned against the fountain. Eric ran down to her. She turned around and looked surprised as she saw him approach in a blur.

"Sookie," he exclaimed as he grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. The relieve that flooded him was almost as alarming as the panic that had raged in him moments earlier. That she could affect him so strongly was something he should be concerned about."Why the hell are you out here?" he looked demanding at her, wanting an explanation for this stupid behavior. Running around unprotected in the middle of the night. Well, he'd seen her protect both him and herself, but it was still stupid to take risks.

"Eric," Sookie seemed to be pulled out of some sort of trance and she suddenly looked terrified. "We need to get inside. Now."

"You were the one to be out here in the first place," Eric was confused at her strange behavior.

"I'll explain when we get in, just come now," Sookie yanked his arm. Eric picked her up, bridal-style and set off towards the house. Only seconds later, he settled her on her feet in the hall. Pam came rushing down the stairs the minute she felt her maker return to the house.

"Did you find-" she cut herself of as she saw Sookie standing there, unharmed. "Phew. You really shouldn't wander off Sookie, Eric became a total mess."

"And that's the part Pam, where you leaves," Eric said and gave her a look. She grinned and disappeared up the stairs again. "Now, Sookie, what were you playing at?" he said as he turned to her again.

"I don't even know where to start," Sookie shook her head. Eric didn't like the alarmed look on her face.

"Come," he put an arm around her and steered her to the living room. He sat her down on the couch, "Let's start with why the hell you were out in the garden."

"Claudine came to see me,"

"Claudine?"

"Yes, my fairy godmother," Sookie explained. "She talked to me about my powers. Why they have become so strong, and…" she bit her lip.

"What is wrong?" Eric felt an irritatingly anxious feeling grow.

"I had this dream," Sookie started and looked down at her hands, "And Claudine told me that this was a new ability that I had somehow developed. Visions through dreams, I guess you could call it. Some kind of seeing-into-the-future thing."

"Okay," he wasn't sure what to say. It was something about Sookie's mood that told him that this dream hadn't been a pleasant one.

"In the dream," Sookie didn't seem to hear him, she had a distant look on her face, "I was in a forest. And then I heard a wolf howling. I ran, I don't know why, but I just felt that I had to. Someone was in danger, but I didn't know who at the moment. Then, someone started to laugh, and I recognized the voice, but I didn't understand whose it was." She was completely lost in her own world, and she stared into the distance, looking at something, at someone, that wasn't actually there, "And then… someone screamed. And it was too late… `you lost him´, that voice said…." Sookie stared wide eyed at the invisible, imagined person before her, looking terrified.

"Sookie," Eric carefully put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to look at him, her mind came back to reality and she met his eyes. "Who had you lost?"

"You," she said with fear in her voice, "I had lost you. You was the one screaming, and- and the one laughing… was Russell Edginton."

"But it was just a dream," Eric said as he tried to think clear. If Russell was back, things were starting to look quite dark. But he couldn't be. It was just far to unrealistic… or was it?

"No! Don't you understand!" Sookie shot up from the couch and looked furiously at him "It's what is going to happen! Russell is back, and-and he wants to kill you!" Tears started to form in her eyes as she screamed at him, "I can't lose you! I won't, I refuse to lose more people in my life! I-I can't!" she sobbed out the last words and Eric quickly stood up and pulled her into a warm embrace. Russell could wait, right now, he needed to try making Sookie calm down.

"Shh," he whispered into her hair as he rocked her slowly in his arms, "It's okay. You won't lose me, we'll figure this out." She clung desperately to him, sobbing into his chest. It was a new feeling for Eric, comforting someone. He rarely gave comfort, or received it for that matter. The only exceptions would've been Pam and Godric. But that was different. The relationship between maker and child was different. No, Eric didn't want to think about Godric now. With Sookie crying in his arms, it would just all get too much. He pushed away the thought of his maker and slowly sat down on the couch, Sookie still clinging to him. They just sat there for awhile, until Sookie's deep sobs slowly calmed. She looked up at him and wiped the tears of with her hand.

"Sorry for going all hysterical with you," she smiled weakly, "I'll just have to blame all the weird stuff that has happened the latest days."

"It's okay," Eric smiled back, glad that she'd stopped crying, "I'm used to you screaming at me."

"Oh God that makes me sound terrible," Sookie laughed slightly "Was I really that awful?"

"Yes you were," he smirked and she smacked him lightly on the arm, but then she gently took his hands into her smaller ones in a warm gesture. Eric looked down at their intertwinded fingers, slowly running his thumbs over hers. If there was a time he could talk about the way he felt about her, this was it and yet, he couldn't seem to get the words out. How could it be, that he could swagger and smirk around her, that he could kiss her, but not do this? He was not used to talking. Not like this. But for Sookie, he would try. "The month after you'd resigned the invitation to your house…" he started, still looking down at their hands, "Was probably the longest month in my entire life." He grew silent, but Sookie didn't say anything. She seemed to sense that he was not yet finished. "You make me feel things… that I really should not feel. And it fucking scares me… because I know that you should not feel the same about me. Because I will always be a ruthless vampire, and I have done things that should make you despise me. And sometimes, I can be just a fucking idiot. I've put you through a lot of shit, and for that I'm truly sorry."

"I'm sorry to!" Sookie exclaimed and Eric looked up. "I've been so caught up in myself and my problems that I didn't realize how much you meant to me, until I almost lost you. I've been judging you so hard the entire time, even though I myself is far from flawless. I mean come on, I'm an insanely stubborn crazy-person who can read minds! And I do things without thinking about the consequences. And I to, can be an idiot." She was smiling at him now, "But maybe we can be idiots together?" Eric didn't wait another second, he captured Sookie's lips in a deep kiss and their tongues met and s danced perfectly. Sookie's warmth engulfed them both and Eric pulled her closer, never wanting to let go again.

**Phew. The talk... is over. Yes I know that maybe Eric appears a bit soft, but if you think about it, he was really brave. I mean, have you ever met a man who likes to talk about his feelings? And for Eric, vampire, man, and insanely closed off, I think it's worth an applause. I also know that people are waiting for lemons, and I promise that they will come, just hang in there. I should say though, that this is not a lemon-centered story. The plot is what is most important to me, and if you want a story that is just lemons with a side- plot, this might not be the story for you (I can only hope that I didn't lose fifty percent of my readers now ;)) But OF COURCE there will be lemons, we couldn't have an Eric/Sookie story without them, could we? And of course there will be more about the Russell-situation (as I will call it from now on) but I wanted to leave you with a nice ending on this chapter, and when he comes into the picture… well the situation might not be all that nice… Sorry for the rambling, now I'm done.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Once again, sorry for the delay. School is going crazy. It's the end of the term and there are millions of tests and other boring things I have to study to. Meaning I can't do stuff that I actually want to do. Like writing. Well, here's a new chapter, at last. It's a bit of a fill in chapter, but more exciting things are to come.**

_Chapter 15_

When Sookie pulled out from Pam's driveway, the first sunrays were already coloring the sky into a warm, pink shade. Pam's Jaguar moved smoothly over the road as she drove towards Bond Temps and –yay- her morning shift at Merlotte's. She was not quite sure of how she would survive working until three o' clock, having slept only a couple of hours the latest nights, but she had to. She didn't want to take another day off, being fake ill, since it was possible she would have to take many weeks off after today. The queen had commanded Eric to leave the state and hide, something Eric was virtually furious about, but he hadn't much of a choice. The looming threat of Russell wouldn't go away by him running away like a scared dog, he had pointed out while he and Pam discussed the matter.

Sookie had suggested that he'd just see it like a vacation from all the "sheriffing", and at this Eric had smiled. When she also had pointed out that he could use it as an opportunity to work out a plan, he had seen the logic in the idea and decided that it might be the best thing to do. On the condition that she came with him of course. Because there was no way in hell he left her here with Russell on the loose. Sookie had responded with that there was no way in hell she let _him leave_ all by _himself_ with Russell on the loose. Eric had given her a smile that made Pam roll her eyes, before she immediately made it perfectly clear that she was going to stay in Shrevport, since she would rather eat garlic that being stuck with all of their romantic goo. Besides, someone had to stay and keep up a façade of everything being normal, and running Fangtasia. Eric had agreed on this, mostly since Pam didn't seem to be in any kind of danger.

And so it had been decided that she and Eric would leave the following night. And not only leave the state, but leave the country. Before Sookie knew it, she was almost on her way to another country, with Eric Northman. Wow. Things were really moving fast here. The insecure part of her told her that she should do something to slow it down, but Sookie was not going to listen to that part in this matter. Eric's apology, and the talk they'd had, told her that no matter the problems they'd had in the past, and the problems that probably lied ahead of them, they could get through it. If she was important enough to Eric to make him put away that damn pride and apologize, _and_ admit that he had feelings for her, then there was nothing she wouldn't dare to do. So, well, Sweden next then. Though before they left, Sookie had decided to go to her shift at Merlotte's, since she wanted to talk to Sam. She had at least two weeks of vacation to take out, but she doubted that her boss would be all that happy with her for leaving on such a short notice. But he would just have to deal with it.

Eric hadn't been very keen on the idea of her leaving the house without him, even if both he and Pam would be sleeping the whole day. Though after a reminder of the fact that it would be, well daylight outside, and a promise of that she would be home well before sunset, he had given up and said he would come as soon as he woke up. Sookie had gotten the keys to Pam's Jaguar (If you break it, I will have to kill you, she'd said), kissed Eric goodbye, and set off towards Bond Temps.

After driving by her own house and taking a quick shower and changing into her Merlotte's uniform, Sookie parked her car outside the bar. She had decided to leave Pam's Jaguar at her house, and take her own to Merlotte's. Making entrance in such a posh car would give her way to much unwanted attention. Today was one of those days when she just wanted to be invisible. The brief look she had taken in the mirror told her that she looked a bit like a ghost. She was pale under her tan, and had dark circles under her eyes. The sleep loss was to blame for that of course, but it still didn't feel very good. Her hair had been a mess to, and had to go up in an emergency ponytail. As she entered the bar, she was greeted by Tara, who gave her a hug.

"How are you doing Sook?" Tara asked with concern as she pulled out from the hug and studied her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine Tara," Sookie smiled to further underline the message "I'm just a bit tired."

"How is… you know?"

"He's fine to," she could feel her smile widen as she spoke about Eric.

"That's great," Tara said and smiled back.

* * *

The day went by, agonizing slow. Sookie forced herself to be constantly moving, since if she sat down, if only for a moment, she was convinced she would fall asleep in a matter of seconds. At least the talk with Sam had gone alright. Just as she'd suspected, he hadn't been very happy about it, but in the end, he'd told her to have a nice trip.

When her shift finally ended at three, Sookie hurried out to her car and set off home.

She spent the next hour in the bathtub, dozing in the warm water as she let all the tensions melt away. After washing her hair and making herself look human again, she forced herself to get out of the tub. As she got dressed in a simple, light blue dress, she made a mental list of things to do. One: pack. She needed warm clothes. Judging from what she'd heard about Sweden, even the summers could be a bit cold from time to time. Though she couldn't pick clothes that would make her look like a big lump. It was Eric after all. If there was something she didn't want to look like when being with Eric, it was a big lump. All they had been doing so far was kissing, but that was partly because they were constantly interrupted, and had a lot on their plate at the moment, but she was pretty sure it would go past that stage pretty fast. Again, it was Eric. And honestly, she had been quite tired of fighting the sexual tinge that had been there- to be honest- the entire time. Now she didn't have to fight it any longer… a pleasant shudder went down her spine. She so wanted to get past kissing... No, she was getting distracted! Sookie forced herself to go back to making her mental note. Second on the list: call Jason and tell him she would be going away. Third: eat something.

* * *

At sunset, Sookie had completed all three tasks. Her suitcases stood packed and ready at the door, filled with both necessary, practical clothes, and more sensual items. Jason was informed, and he seemed to be mostly happy for her taking some time off. That could be because she hadn't said she was going to Sweden. Or that Eric was coming with her. She had simply told him that she was going on a vacation, since she needed to get away for a bit. It was a bit stupid, but she really didn't have the energy to take a discussion with her brother about Eric. From an outside point of view, this whole thing was stupid. It was a rash, hastily decision, and a couple of days ago, she wouldn't have dreamed about doing this, trusting Eric so completely. But things were different now. So many feelings had been brought to the surface, and Sookie decided to just ride on the emotional wave. It was a frightening, _wonderful_ feeling.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door, and she smiled to herself as she went to greet her Viking. As she opened the door, she was met by a completely different person. Someone she hadn't seen in over a month.

"Bill?"

**Bill is back! Did anyone miss him? I didn't. Will he cause trouble? who knows;)**

**Eric and Sookie are going away! Yay. Now they will get more time alone together, if you know what I mean, wink wink. And ahh (lyrical sigh), they'll get to experience Swedish summer. That is really… something. Sure it can be great with really warm and nice weather, but then BAM, you are suddenly standing in pouring rain.**

**Just to make sure there are no misunderstandings here; they are not leaving permanently. They are just going to hide for awhile. And the reason I decided to leave Pam at home is that she might ruin the romantic mood It all might seem a bit illogical, but it's my story, and I have my reasons for everything;)**


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm sorry. Again. I'm a bad, bad person. Almost two weeks without an update. I hate myself for doing that to you, simply because I know how frustrating it is to wait for updates. This chapter simply didn't want to get written.**

**I have to thank you millions of times for the reviews of course, I can't possibly tell you how much they mean to me.**

_Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door, and she smiled to herself as she went to greet her Viking. As she opened the door, she was met by a completely different person. Someone she hadn't seen in over a month._

_"Bill?"_

"Hello Sookie," her ex boyfriend said with a faint smile. Sookie was a bit to overwhelmed to grasp the situation. Bill was here. On her porch. Right this second.

"What are you… why are you…" she just shook her head, trying to figure out what to say. She was not sure how she felt about this. The anger and sadness she'd felt over Bill was gone. It had melted away and left… well nothing. She felt nothing. It was such a relieve she could've laughed, but didn't since that would've been very inappropriate.

"I need to talk to you," Bill said.

"Well I'm not sure I want to," Sookie folded her arms together.

"It will only take a moment," he tried. Sookie sighed. She realized that she was acting childish. It wouldn't hurt to just let him say what was on his mind. It would probably take less time than getting into an argument. She had the chance to be the bigger person here.

"Okay then," she shrugged and looked interrogating at him "What is it that you have to say?"

"I just came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?"

"Since I told the queen that your blood could not help her to walk in the sun, she's been determined to find a true fay, and she is sending me off to look for one."

"What? But…" Sookie felt that she clearly disliked this queen more and more. Sure, it was nice she wouldn't have to go and become her personal blood bank, but this just sounded stupid. And desperate. "Where should you find that? I didn't think there were any fairies on earth any longer.

"There isn't," Bill chuckled bitterly "But I don't have a choice."

"What about Jessica?" Sookie realized that she hadn't seen the red-headed vampire since she broke up with Bill. It had been part of her failed plan to stay away from the supernatural. She had talked to Sam and been able to change her work schedule so that she worked only day and morning shifts. She felt now that that had been a selfish and immature thing to do. Jessica was her friend, and she shouldn't have had to suffer because of what Bill did. Sookie decided that she would give her a call.

"Jessica is living with Hoyt," Bill answered simply, "She will be fine."

"But will _you_ be fine?" NO! Why did she ask that? She wasn't suppose to care about him. Not that she did, but damn her way to put her nose where it didn't belong.

"I will," he smiled slightly, and then turned his eyes to the suitcases on the floor "Are you going somewhere?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I'm going out of town. I need to get away for a bit."

"Do you really think it's wise to go alone?" Bill sounded skeptical and Sookie was just about to give him a long speech about how she could take care of herself, but before she had the chance, another person joined the conversation.

"Oh she won't be alone," Eric was suddenly standing on the lawn, walking up to them. "You don't have to worry Billy." Sookie saw how Bill's face immediately turned dark with anger.

"You are going with Eric?" He gave Sookie a look that was a mixture between anger and confusion. "After everything he has done to you, you still run to him?"

"Don't you dare to go there Bill Compton," Sookie said warning "You have absolutely no right to have any opinions about who I am seeing."

"But it's… Eric," Bill's voice dripped with spite and Sookie felt her calm barrier crumble. Though Eric just looked at Bill in a way that could best be described as amusement.

"Leave, Bill. Now," she said, voice strained with suppressed anger. She didn't want to start shouting at him, she was not going to let him affect her like that. Bill opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but as Eric towered over him and showed fangs, he seemed to realize this was a lost battle, and gave Eric a spiteful glare as he backed down.

"Well I hope you two will be very happy together," he snorted, irony thick in his voice. Sookie just glared at him, head held high, and he disappeared in vampire speed. She looked after him for a moment, trying to sort out her feelings. She was once again relieved to feel that comfortable nothingness about him. It truly felt good to be over him, though she didn't like his threatening attitude. She turned to Eric, and found him still with an annoying, fanged grin on his face.

"What are you smirking at?" she huffed.

"Bill is funny when he is angry," he chuckled and let his fangs retract. "He reminds me of one of those old tea kettles that start to whistle when they get warm enough. They start to make a really high squeaky noise. Kind of like Bill."

Sookie wanted to stay angry with Eric for not taking the situation seriously, but the image of Bill turning into a tea kettle made that impossible, and instead, she started laughing. She completely lost it and laughed uncontrollably, tears welling her eyes. Her stomach almost started to hurt from the convulsive fit, but she couldn't seem to stop.

"Sorry to interrupt your lovely laughter," Eric said as he picked up her bags. "But we do have a plane to catch."

"Yes-" Sookie wiped away a tear and tried to pull herself together. "How are you planning on getting to the airport? I can't see your car here."

"I'll fly you to my house and we'll take my car from there," Eric explained simply.

"Hold your horses mister," Sookie gave him a skeptical look, "There is no way I let you fly me, and two gigantic suitcases."

"You are underestimating my strength, my dear Sookie," he raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"It's not like I don't think you're strong enough," she protested, "I just don't understand why we can't take my car."

"That deathtrap?" Eric nodded towards her yellow wreck of a car "Believe me Sookie, flying is much safer."

"Oh fine," she sighed, not feeling up to more drama. "I trust you."

"Good," Eric smirked. "Come here." He pulled her close and Sookie put her arms around his neck. Eric took the suitcases under one arm, and put the other one tightly around her waist.

"Do you feel safe?" he asked and kissed her softly on the forehead.

"Completely," Sookie smiled and buried her face against her vampire's chest. With a forceful leap, Eric lunged up in the air and she felt butterflies starting to flutter in her belly. They weren't unpleasant though. She felt safe, Eric's strong arm wrapped around her and his muscular body pressed against hers. A soft breeze whistled through her hair and the air got cooler around her as they got higher and higher up in the sky. After hesitating a moment, she slowly turned her head and looked down. The sight was breathtaking to say the least. She stared wide eyed at the lush, green trees that swirled by in enormous speed, her house had already disappeared into the distance. Over them, stars shone brightly in the cloud free sky. Sookie could swear they were brighter up here. As she peered up at Eric, she could see that he was smiling widely. She guessed he enjoyed this as much as she did.

Soon, they had left Bond Temps behind, and were flying over a tree filled area, lacking of houses and with only one small road. Did Eric live here? In the middle of… well nowhere? A clearing in the trees suddenly became visible, and soon, she could see a big, white house. Huh. She didn't think Eric was the type of guy who would want a white house. But then again, what did she know about his house taste? It wasn't like just because he was a vampire, he had to live in a gigantic mansion, furnished with coffins and weird old antiques everywhere. She had to admit that was what she'd expected. The house was quite similar to her own home, a beautiful building in a bit old-fashioned style, though it was in much better shape than hers. A lush garden with a perfectly trimmed hedge surrounded the house, and Sookie guessed that just as Pam's, Eric's garden was to the work of a well paid gardener. She might not know Eric completely yet, but one thing she knew for sure, gardening, was not one of his favorite occupations. Eric landed softly on the house's porch and Sookie settled her feet on the ground. Unexpectedly, her knees felt weak and she was glad Eric was still holding her around her waist, otherwise, there was a good chance she would've tipped over.

"Are you okay?" He asked and looked down at her. As he carefully pulled away slightly, she clung to his arm for support.

"Yes," she assured and steadied herself as her legs stopped shaking, "Guess I'm just not used to the whole flying thing."

"Well I thought you were very brave, you had your eyes open the whole time, and you didn't go all hysterical and started screaming."

"Yes I did good didn't I," Sookie said with pride, "Now I just have to ask, why do you live like, a million miles away from any kind of civilization?"

"I have two apartments in Shrevport too, one of them over Fangtasia" Eric explained as they walked over the lawn towards the garage. "But sometimes it's nice to just get away from it all. Why? Do you find it weird?"

"Not at all. I just never pictured you living in a white house on the country."

"No, because clearly, I need to live in a black castle with dungeons," Eric said with an amused look on his face. Sookie giggled. That was pretty much her thoughts just minutes ago.

They reached the garage and Eric swung the large door open without effort. He put her suitcases in the back of the Corvette, where his own luggage already was placed. Like a perfect gentleman, he then opened the door for her and she got in, gratefully sinking down in the seat. Eric got in as well, and pulled out on the driveway. A minute later, they were out on the small road, and the vegetation whirled by in surreal speed.

Sookie wasn't sure she would ever get used to the vampire way of driving. It. Was. Fast. She got relaxed pretty quickly though, figuring that if she could handle flying, she could handle this to. As they left Eric's house behind, her mind wandered off to her previous thoughts. About how surprised she'd been to see that her vampire lived in a quite ordinary house. It was beautiful, yes, and she hadn't seen what it looked like on the inside, but it still was a normal house. Wasn't it kind of weird that she knew so little about him? Did that mean she was too self absorbed? Or did it just mean that Eric was not a very open person?

"What are you thinking about?" Eric asked, seemingly noticing her absent mind.

"Just you know, seeing your house makes me realize how little I actually know about you," she tried to explain, "I mean I know _you_, but I don't know what your favorite colour is… or what music you like. Or what kind of books you read, if you even read books."

"I see," Eric nodded in understanding and gave her a crooked smile, "Just go ahead and ask. Though I think the hearing can wait a little, because honestly, you need to sleep." That was true, Sookie had been struggling to keep her eyes open since the minute they sat down in the car.

"Sure," she yawned and leaned back against the leather seat, "But don't think you'll get away. When we get on the plane, you can't run."

"You make it sound like you are planning to kill me or something," he laughed softly and Sookie smiled as she closed her eyes, she just loved the sound of Eric laughing. Seconds later, she drifted off into sleep, still smiling.

I need to do some explaining.

**One, I know, the queen is acting like super weird, sending Bill of to just randomly search for fairies, but she is not suppose to be a major part of this story. I want Bill out of the way, but I couldn't just let Eric and Sookie leave without hearing from him at all, but I don't want them to get all caught up in his annoyingness.**

**Two, Bill is being a total wimp, but like I said, I just want him out of the way. Now, Eric and Sookie are finally off to Sweden, they'll get there in the next chapter, and the really good stuff can begin.**

**Three, sure, Eric could've crushed Bill like an insect, but I thought it was unnecessary. It's way cooler that Eric can just look at someone and make them run away. He doesn't even have to say anything.**

**I'm apologizing for the slightly illogical Bill and Queen stuff in this chapter, but I'm still hoping for reviews. I'm on summer break really soon (Friday- yay) and then I'll be able to update on a more regular basis. That's the least you deserve for sticking with me and my weirdness and grammar problems;)**


	17. Chapter 17

**I know I said in the last a/u that they'd come to Sweden in this chapter, but then, something came in the way, and things got a bit delayed. But I do think (hope) you will appreciate this. Read and enjoy :)**

Something buzzed loudly around her. It disturbed her sleep and unwillingly, Sookie felt herself slowly awake to life. The world was a blur and it took a moment for her to realize where she was, and another moment for her to realize that she had no idea _where_ this where was. Judging from the looks of it, and the sound around her, it was definitely the inside of a quite luxurious plane. All the seats were in light, beige leather, and looked more like armchairs than the usual tiny plane seats. The interiors –the luggage shelves and walls- were all painted in a soft, white colour and large oval windows showed the dark night outside. She was quite sure that this was not a normal airplane. Maybe Eric had some kind of private jet? It wouldn't surprise her. Where was Eric for that matter? She rose and stretched her muscles, looking for the blond vampire. As if he'd heard her question, the Viking suddenly appeared from behind a dark blue drape, which presumably led to the cockpit. As he caught eye of the newly awake Sookie, he smiled and came to her side in vampire speed, capturing her lips in a breathtaking kiss.

"You are awake" he stated as he pulled back, still holding her tightly around her waist.

"No, I'm sleepwalking," Sookie smirked and put her arms around his neck, "Would you mind explaining how it's possible for me to fall asleep in a car, and wake up in an airplane?"

"Magic," Eric said in a very faked, mysterious voice, "Or no, I carried you. I figured you needed the rest. You haven't slept much the latest days."

"You were absolutely right," she said and kissed him lightly. "And it's great that I'm all alert. Now, I'll be able to stay awake all the way."

"And why is that so great?"

"Cuz then, I'll have all that more time to ask you questions," Sookie giggled.

"You are making me reconsider my decision of taking a night flight," Eric raised an eyebrow, "But there is so much more we could do for these hours." he added, and slowly ran a hand down her hip, caressing her curves through the thin dress.

"Like what?" She asked innocently, batting her eyelashes and smiling flirtatious.

"Well, you do realize that this is the first time we are alone since…" he trailed of, but there was no need to continue the sentence. Sookie knew what he meant. Since she, and he had become "we". It had only been a few days, but things were already feeling more right with Eric than she'd ever thought was possible. It was like they were meant for each other. Like two people who just had walked around in a blur, only to finally, truly meet, and realize that they were suppose to be. Soulmates. Was that too much of a fairytale theory? No, Sookie decided that if vampires and fairies could exist, so could this.

She looked up at Eric, meeting those blue, blue eyes. She smiled her most shining smile and leaned up to kiss him again, removing any doubts. Eric instantly responded the kiss passionate, hungry, but still so tender. Their tongues circled and danced, satisfying and feeding the burning desire that whirled around them, between them, inside them. No words were needed now, they both wanted this. They both needed this.

Sookie wrapped her arms around Eric's shoulders, needing to be closer, to him, his strength and everything that he was. It could never be enough, and as Eric lifted her, she wrapped her legs around his hips, moaning as her hot center pressed against his growing erection. She grinded against him, making him growl in desire. He carried her through the generous passage between the seats, and through a door. Sookie was mildly surprised as another room was revealed, window free and with a large bed. She faintly picked up Eric kicking the door closed, hearing everything through a fog of lust. He ran his hands up her back, unzipping her dress and undoing her bra in the same movement and suddenly, she was gently thrown on the soft mattress, landing with a muffled thud. Her hair flew around her and spread on the pillows in a halo of gold. With almost clumsy hands, she slipped the dress over her hips and threw it carelessly on the floor. Eric watched her, his blue eyes burning with lust as he pulled his shirt of and stepped out of his jeans.

"You are truly, the most beautiful creature I have ever seen." The words came out so honest, so true, and Sookie felt her heart swell at the sound. He kneeled between her spread legs and braced a hand beside her head, letting the other one travel down her body, fondling her breasts and nipples as he kissed her.

"Ahhh," Sookie gasped in pleasure as she felt the hand between her thighs, stroking her through the wet fabric of her panties. The teasing caress nearly drove her mad with want and the sound of fabric tearing as her panties were ripped off, was wonderful to her ears. Eric moved his kisses down her neck, over her chest and breasts, licking and sucking on the nipples in a way that sent delightful shivers all through her body. He then continued his way down her stomach, and when he finally reached his destination, Sookie grabbed fistfuls of his blond hair and bucked her hips against his mouth, aching for more contact. He looked up and smirked.

"Greedy," he whispered and arched an eyebrow. She couldn't have answered even she'd tried to, and so, she just gave him a hazy smile that quickly turned into a open mouthed gasp as Eric went back to licking her again, increasing the pressure. She was quickly approaching the edge of her pleasure, almost... almost feeling the orgasm overwhelm her, but then, Eric pulled back and she moaned in discontent.

"Don't worry Lover," Eric said and moved to kiss her as he slipped of his boxers, "I will give you everything you want," and with that, he thrust into her hot wetness.

"Oh yes!" She screamed out her pleasure and arched her back. Eric pushed into her again, harder this time, but no faster. He kept it deep, relentlessly but still gentle in the most overpowering, perfect way and she writhed and moaned in lust. Once again, her orgasm built up, and this time, Eric intended to give her what she wanted. He kept rocking into her, mouth on ajar and fangs glimmering in the dimmed light. She turned her head slightly, exposing her neck, allowing him to bite. As he plunged his fangs into her neck, Sookie cried out in pleasure.

"Ohhh God! Eric!" She screamed as the orgasm hit her, making her body shudder and convulse. As her insides clenched around him, Eric let go and came with a deep growl against her neck. His body tensed and arched backwards in a bow, before collapsing. He'd somehow maintained enough control to shift slightly, making sure he wouldn't fall on top of her, and for minutes, they just lay there, both completely spent.

Sookie mustered up the small amount of energy she had left, and turned to face Eric. As she settled on her side, she almost had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Because this looked so much like the first dream she'd had about him, with them both lying in a bed, Eric with his hair falling softly around his face, smiling. This was real though, she was happily reminded of as the blond vampire wrapped his arms around her and started to lick away the remaining blood on her neck, healing the small puncture marks in the process. He pulled back and settled on his back, letting her curl up on his arm and bury her face against his neck. They still didn't say anything, just lay there, engulfed in the moment. This perfect moment.

**So so so. How was the lemony stuff? I hope it wasn't awful. And I know, they weren't alone. The pilot is obviously there, but hey, who gives a damn? Not me. They were behind a door, and I wanted a lemon here. End of story;) I also know it wasn't overly graphic, but that's what my lemons look like;)  
**

**About Sookie's romantic thoughts, they are pretty much my own. It's the way I see Eric and Sookie. They just walk around, and don't realize that they are perfect for each other, and now, when they've had their talk and knows what they feel, they finally understand it. It's a bit sappy, but I'm the one in charge here, and sometimes, I just want things to get all fluffy.  
**


	18. Author note

Sorry to everyone who thought this was a new chapter. I know how disappointed you get when you see a new update, and it turns out to be just an author note. Therefore, I was going to write a chapter and then put this message (that I'm about to give you) in the end, but after rewriting a million times and still not being the least bit satisfied with it, I gave up. My inspiration has hit rock bottom, and it's frustrating to say the least. I promise to not give up on the story though, because I really want to finish it, and I will. To the message then: I'll be going on vacation tomorrow, and will be gone for three weeks. That means, no updates in three weeks. I won't have any internet connection, but I will have my computer (meaning I can write). I think it will do some good for my muse, and hopefully, I'll come back with at least two new chapters. If my inspiration is at its best, there might be even more.

Just thought I should tell you so you don't think I've just given up on the story.

I'll end this embarrassing whiny note with a HUGE thank you to you all. For reviewing, reading and alerting my story. It means everything to me:)


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm back! With two new chaptersl. I will probably post the next one tomorrow. and oh, about an upcoming, tiny tiny Twilight bashing- if there are any twilight fans out there, I mean no harm;)** **Sookie is having her hearing with Eric.**

"Hmm…" Sookie thought for a moment, "Favorite… movie?"

"Twilight," Eric said with a very serious expression, but didn't manage to keep it for very long as they both started laughing. Only the thought of Eric liking a movie where the vampires sparkled in sunlight was ridiculous.

"No, but seriously," Sookie giggled and poked him in the chest.

"That would be The Godfather."

"Okay…" she thought again, and scooted higher up on the bed to lie at eye level with him. "If you could eat food, what would you eat?"

"Ugh," Eric grimaced, "Food is disgusting. It's…. dead."

"Yeah yeah, I'll put it this way: if you had to eat food, what would you eat?"

"I don't know… a cup of coffee."

"That's not food," Sookie giggled. "That's a drink. You can't `eat´ a drink."

"You can if you freeze it," Eric insisted.

"So you would eat frozen coffee?" she raised her eyebrows in a disbelieving frown, "Of all the food in the world, you would eat – coffee?"

"Yes," Eric said stubbornly, "Accept my choice." Sookie shook her head, but gave up on the question and tried thinking of another one. They had been doing this for nearly an hour, and she was running out of questions. She knew all sorts of things about Eric now. Everything from what kind of music he liked (classical piano –who would've known?) to which was his favorite colour. Not any deep stuff though. Somehow that had felt a bit off bounds, but she decided to give it a go.

"Can't you tell me a little about your family?" Sookie asked, but immediately regretted the question as she saw a slight twitch in Eric's face. Whole family murdered by wolves. Seeking revenge for almost a thousand years. Hmm, probably not a good conversation subject. Smart move Sook!

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, "You don't have to talk about it."

"No it's okay," Eric sighed and looked down at their linked hands, "It's just, I don't think much about them." He was quiet for a moment. "It's my way to deal with… painful things. To not deal with them. It's not very healthy." A joyless smile ghosted over his lips and Sookie stroked gently with her thumb over his hand in a comforting gesture. Eric seemed to be far off in his own mind. She wondered what he thought about. In a thousand years, quite a lot of memories are created. Probably many painful ones. How did one deal with that? Living for so long? Maybe that was why most vampires were so cold and emotionless. Survival-instinct.

"I don't remember much about my human family." Eric said after a while of silence, "Their names, faintly how they looked… and fragments of events… but it's been so long." He grew quiet again, looking almost as if he searched for the long lost memories. "My mother's name was Sigrid, and my father's was… Gunnar. I had a little sister, only a few months old. Her name was Embla."

"It's a beautiful name," Sookie whispered, and Eric finally looked up and smiled faintly.

"I wish I could remember more about them," he turned his eyes down again, "but after they'd been killed, I just tried to focus on finding the wolves… and when Godric came along, I was more or less forced to forget about my human life to survive in my new existence."

Sookie didn't say anything. She remembered how she'd been after her grandmother died. Through her young life, she'd experienced quite a lot of grief, and knew that sometimes, there were no words to help you through it. She thought of Godric. And the roof. Suddenly, she wished that her dream had been true. That she'd gone to comfort Eric. Because, even if she hadn't been there, he had surely been just as devastated and heartbroken as on the roof. Maybe he still was. Sookie wished he would talk to her about it. She wanted to know his all sorrows, she wanted to help him carry them, to know that he was not alone. But she didn't say anything. Sometimes, the best comfort was to just be there for someone.

* * *

_Jag ska aldrig lämna dig, du ska aldrig se mig gå_

_om du ger din sorg till mig så kan jag bära den åt dig, tills du orkar se…_

* * *

They had stayed in silence for…. Well Sookie didn't know for how long. Eric was off in his ancient mind, staring into a distance she couldn't see, and Sookie herself stayed quiet. Then Eric suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, and said something about this being the longest he'd ever heard her stay quiet. She laughed, they kissed and the somber atmosphere was swept away. They went back to start talking about light, easy things, and the rest of the flight flew by. In the back of her mind, a small voice told Sookie she should be more persistent and try to coax out some more feelings from Eric, but she just couldn't bear more of that sadness right now. And on a second thought, it was probably not a good idea to _drag_ Eric down the memory lane. They would have more chances to talk, many more. They could afford to take it slow.

* * *

Sookie stood up from the bed and stretched her muscles, willing them to wake up. Eric had said he would go talk to the pilot, since they would be arriving in just an hour or so, and she decided that she could as well get dressed. She was very happy with herself, she had been smart enough to put down an extra set of clothing in the bag she'd brought on the plane. Her dress was quite thin, and was more suitable for hot Lousiana days, than Swedish nights. She found her bra and panties on different locations in the room, and found herself grinning like an idiot. She put on the underwear, and continued with the dark blue jeans she brought. To that she had chosen a simple long sleeved, black top. It had a quite deep, v-neck, which in Sookie's opinion, in combination with the long sleeves, made it perfectly sexy, without being trampy. She took a glance in the mirror, expecting the worst, but was positively surprised. The ghostly blue shade under her eyes had faded, and the gloominess was completely gone. _Great sex, the solution for everything_. Well at least some stuff.

"Well aren't you a vision to behold," Eric's voice came from behind, and she turned around and smiled at him. The vampire wrapped his arms around her and she stood up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. Of course, no kisses with Eric were ever quick, it turned out to be quite long actually.

"So, what are the plans then?" Sookie asked and pulled away slightly.

"Plans?"

"Well I don't know anything at all. This was all very spontaneous. Where will we be landing? Where are we going to live?

"I thought that for first week, we'll be staying in my apartment in Stockholm. I have a few trustable people there to which I can discuss this whole situation."

"Okay," Sookie nodded, "Well Stockholm sounds like fun. Is there a long ride from the airport?"

"Oh not long at all," Eric said and suddenly looked very mysterious. Sookie didn't like it.

"Eric, exactly where are we landing?" she asked and narrowed her eyes on a suspicious frown.

"Nowhere," Eric said with a smirk. He looked out through the window, "I think we are getting into a good height now," he said, seemingly to himself. Sookie suddenly felt extremely nervous.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" she said stepped back to cross her arms over her chest.

"Why land when you just can keep on flying?" Eric just smirked wider at her sceptical expression.

"Oh my God," Sookie finally understood where this was going, "You don't seriously mean you are going to just jump, and fly from up here?"

"Yes, I seriously mean that," he said casually, "We're on the same height as when you jump with a parachute in just a couple of minutes, it's perfectly safe."

"Safe. You call jumping out of an airplane safe?"

"We won't be jumping, just stepping out, and soar in a very un-scary way."

"But, but it's…." Sookie found herself in loss of words, "Why can't we just land like normal people? And what about our baggage?"

"That's the safest way," Eric reasoned, "That way, it will be practically impossible for anyone to know we're even in Sweden. We won't be in any records or anything. And the baggage will be sent to the apartment."

"Well when you put it that way," Sookie sighed, defeated, "I guess I don't have any arguments left." She had after all flown with Eric before, and it had gone fine. Surely this would work to.

"Vi är på tre kilometers höjd nu," a voice suddenly came from a speaker, "Jag låser upp dörrarna." Sookie gave Eric a questioning look.

"That was the pilot saying that we're on the proper height now. He's unlocked the door in the back," Eric explained, "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I can get for jumping out of an airplane." Sookie shook her head. She couldn't believe she actually was going to do this.

"Good, come then," Eric took her hand and led her through a door to the back of the plane, into a small room without furniture, "Put this on," he took off his leather jacket and handed it to her, "It will be a bit cold in the beginning."

"What about you?" She asked and touched his bare arm lightly. He was only wearing a black teeshirt, and even though she definitely appreciated (understatement) his arms, it looked quite cold.

"I'm a vampire, lover," he gave her a crooked smile, "I could basically roll around in snow without getting the least bit cold."

"You men and your macho ideas," Sookie sighed, but put on the jacket. The sleeves fell past her hands, and she rolled them up a bit. "Okay," she took a deep breath, "I'm ready." Eric wrapped an arm tightly around her waist, and she secured both of hers around his neck, holding as hard as she possibly could. Eric used his free arm to turn the big handle on the door. The door virtually flung open, and cold air hit Sookie like a wave. She stretched her neck to look out. The night was surprisingly light, and through the gray blue veil, she could make out the green landscape. It looked like a patchwork, the green woods, dark lakes and golden fields created a wonderful scenery. She couldn't quite enjoy it right now however. Adrenaline was pumping, and she felt it as if her heart were to jump out of her chest.

"Don't be afraid," Eric said and gave her reassuring smile, "Just trust me, and enjoy the ride." Her answer was cut off in her throat, as Eric had suddenly stepped out of the plane, and they were both falling. She was screaming, no laughing- she wasn't quite sure what she was doing. It was all just surreal. The butterflies in her stomach were fluttering wildly, and she squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face against Eric's chest as she clung to him with all her might. Through the sound of the wind whistling around her, she was sure she could hear Eric laughing. Then, suddenly, they stopped falling. Hesitantly, Sookie opened her eyes and looked up from her hiding-place. They were soaring high up over the green landscape, and slowly, the wild butterflies in her stomach started to feel a bit nicer.

"See," Eric called through the wind, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Yes it was!" she shouted back, "I can't believe I let you do that!" Eric just laughed again. She would've smacked his arm if she weren't fully concentrated on clinging to him.

**In the Nordic mythology, Embla was the first woman on earth. Ask was the first male. I chose old, Swedish names for Eric's family, names that actually were used at that time. Of course there are a lot of people who is called that these days to.**

**The Swedish lines in the middle are part of a wonderful song called Desperados, okay, strange name on a Swedish song, but it's beautiful. Whenever I listen to it, those lines just sticks with me, and an aright translation would be, **Jag ska aldrig lämna dig**, I will never leave you. **Du ska aldrig se mig gå,** You will never see me walk away. **Om du ger din sorg till mig så kan jag bära den åt dig, tills du orkar se**, If you give me your sorrow, I will carry it for you, until you can see again. **

**I just thought it fitted really well with the conversation.**

**So, next chapter will be up tomorrow. Please review to show me you are still with me, despite my useless updating.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thanks for the reviews, I'm making a little happy-dance *makes said happy-dance* Here's the chapter, just as I promised**

They flew over the green landscape, and Sookie was now thoroughly enjoying it. She had completely lost track of time, but they must've been flying for quite some time because she saw how the landscape changed. Buildings began to appear, sparsely at first, but soon, there were small towns under them. After another unknown time distance, a full city stretched before them. She saw water now, a glimmering darkness that surrounded the large islands with buildings, wide bridges stretching over it.

"Welcome to Stockholm," Eric said as they lowered over the city and approached the island in the middle. The houses they were now over were definitely older. The windows were framed with ornaments, and the roofs tiled. A few of the buildings were flat on top, with decorations framing the edges, and large balconies stretched under many of the windows.

"This is Old Town," Eric explained "It's the part of Stockholm that was first built –logically enough."

"On what an imaginative name," Sookie mumbled to herself, though she could see Eric heard her, because he smirked slightly. He went down a little further, and soon landed on top of one of the flat houses, settling Sookie on her feet. Off experience, she didn't let go of him, knowing that her legs were in no shape for standing at the moment. Though it wasn't nearly as bad as the first time, which was strange, since this technically had been much scarier. At least that first minute when they'd just been falling freely. _It must be something wrong with me._

"We're here," Eric said as he gazed over the houses, "How are your legs?"

"They will be fine in a little bit," Sookie answered.

"I can't believe you actually let me jump out of a plane with you," he chuckled a bit.

"I can't either," she shook her head, "And don't make me think about how crazy I am for doing it, because I'm not sure how I will react then. But now to a question: why did we land on a roof?"

"We are meeting up an old friend of mine," Eric said "She's handling many of my businesses in Stockholm and has been taking care of my apartment." _A female old friend._ Sookie wasn't completely sure she liked that idea. Apparently Eric noted her skepticism.

"Don't worry," he smirked, "Business partner and _friend _only. She is a very respectable, married woman."

"Hmm," Sookie looked at him through narrowed eyes, "Well, okay then. But why does she want to meet us on a roof?"

"It's the most discrete way of entering a building," Eric said and wriggled his eyebrows, causing Sookie's skeptical frown to melt into a smile "Plus. it's fun being on roofs."

"Eric!" A voice called from somewhere distant. Sookie looked around and saw that seemingly out of nowhere, a young woman had appeared at the far end of the roof. Her waist long red hair swirled in the wind and her smile was vivid even at this distance. A knee length black dress flew around her pale legs, and her feet were oddly enough stuck into a pair of rough, black boots. She started walking towards them, still waving. Eric had discovered her to, he raised one hand in a greeting gesture, and took Sookie's hand in the other as he started to walk over the roof.

"Is that your "old" friend?" Sookie huffed but followed his steps. The woman couldn't be older than nineteen, possibly twenty.

"No that's her daughter," Eric rolled his eyes, "Really Sookie, stop being so suspicious." He was right. If she let him jump out of an airplane with her, she could trust him with pretty much anything. They met up with the young woman, and Sookie studied her face. She was pale, with freckles on her nose and cheeks, and green eyes sparkling under heavily blackened eyelashes,

"Vilda," Eric said and gave the woman a smile, "Long time no seen."

"I know," the redhead, whose name apparently was Vilda, smiled back and gave him a quick, friendly hug. "Like, a fifty years." _Wait what?_ Sookie instantly let down her shield to listen after thoughts, wondering if this woman was in fact a vampire. A string of strange words seeped in, and she mentally smacked herself. _You are in Sweden now, people here think in Swedish- idiot_. She hadn't thought about the language part, since the accent in the woman's speech was minor. She didn't get any more time to think about those_ fifty years_, because Vilda spoke again, this time addressing her, "You must be Sookie Stackhouse," she gave Sookie a sparkling smile.

"Yes," she smiled back and reached out a hand, "Nice to meet you." Vilda apparently wasn't one for hand shaking, because she was given a hug.

"Mum was suppose to meet you, but she got caught up," Vilda turned back to Eric, "So she sent me. But let's get down from this roof, and I'll update you on stuff." She swiftly started walking back over the roof from where she'd come. Sookie took the opportunity to grab Eric's arm and look interrogating at him.

"Did I just hear that you hadn't met her in fifty years?"

She realized when saying it out loud, that she might have misunderstood something. Maybe it just meant that they hadn't met in a very long time. Just like when you say you are so hungry you could eat a horse. But Eric surprisingly answered, "Yes." He sounded completely honest, and Sookie felt even more confused.

"How come she looks like she is twenty years old then? She isn't a vampire, I could hear her thoughts," she went on with the question.

"No, she isn't a vampire. I'll explain things later," Eric said in a low voice. She decided to let it go for now. Vilda seemed nice, and if Eric trusted her, there were no reason for her not do so as well.

"Are you coming?" Vilda had already reached the end of the roof and sat down with her legs swung over the edge.

"She is very energetic," Sookie stated.

"That she is," Eric said. He took her hand again and they started walking over the roof. Sookie went back to admiring at the amazing view. The old houses with their ornamented windows and the dark water shimmering far away in the distance was something she could spend quite some time watching.

They reached Vilda, and Sookie started to faintly wonder how they were suppose to get down from here.

"Right this way," Vilda said and gestured, pointing down.

"Wh-" Sookie cut herself of as the woman suddenly scooted of the roof, and disappeared over the edge. Sookie made a stifled shriek, and Eric rushed forward in a blur. He caught Vilda and pulled her back onto the roof.

"What are you doing? Eric looked honestly shocked.

"Getting to your apartment," Vilda looked surprised, "Or do you prefer to stay up here?"

"I would prefer it if you explained why you are jumping from the roof of a five storey building."

Vilda smacked herself on the forehead, "Oh, yeah I forgot. You haven't been here in decades, maybe you don't remember exactly where the apartment is. It's right down there." She pointed, and Eric looked down. Sookie went to stand next to him, and Eric immediately put an arm around her waist.

"Careful, we don't want any more girls falling off."

"But jumping out from airplanes is okay?"

"That was under controlled circumstances."

Sookie rolled her eyes, and leaned out over the edge. She couldn't help but smile as she saw a balcony about eight foot down. Apparently, Vilda wasn't suicidal after all.

"See," the redhead smirked, "Perfectly safe." She sat down on the edge, and jumped off again, landing gracefully on the balcony. "Come on down." She stepped away to make room for Sookie to land, but the telepath hesitated.

"I'm not sure my clumsiness allows me to do that," she looked at Eric, who smirked and scooped her up in his arms.

"I'm not sure _I_ would allow you to do that, my little danger magnet," he kissed on the forehead and stepped off the roof, landing just as gracefully as Vilda. He carefully settled Sookie on her feet and Vilda unlocked the glass door. They entered a big living room.

"I hope you like the slight renovation," Vilda said, "We had to freshen up the walls a little." Sookie studied the room. The wallpapers were cream colored, and a large painting of a ship hung over a dark blue sofa. Further, there were a large bookcase, completely filled with books, two armchairs in the same fabric as the sofa, and flat screen TV. A large oriental carpet covered the floor under the sofa, but apart from that, the floor was a light, wooden one.

"It's fine." Eric answered as he inspected the room. "What do you think?" he turned to Sookie.

"Well I just love it," she said and smiled. They walked through the apartment, and Vilda told Eric about some changes here, and some new furniture there. Sookie found that she _just loved_ every room. All the walls were in light colures, and up by the highly built ceiling, ran ornamented ledges. It all looked fresh, without being clinical. The furniture was a mix of antiques and newer pieces, and in the bedroom there was a white tiled fireplace. Eric gave Sookie a meaning look as she inspected the large bed, and she was glad Vilda was busy explaining the automatic shutters for the windows, because she knew she was smiling and blushing like a school girl.

* * *

"So, I guess there is a reason for your sudden urge to visit our tiny little country again?"

They were sitting in the kitchen now, Eric on a kitchen sofa, and Sookie curled up in his lap. Vilda had just placed a cup of tea in front of her, and Sookie had gratefully accepted it, she still felt a bit shaky from the whole, jump out of an airplane- thing. She would've found it odd that there was anything edible –or well, drinkable- in the house, but Vilda explained she had been informed by the boss (her mother, she added with a grin) that food would be needed, and so she had stocked the fridge.

"Well there are some problems at home which I don't know to deal with yet," Eric answered Vilda's question.

"That sounds serious," Vilda furrowed her brow and sat down opposite to them. "What is going on?" Sookie wondered for a moment if Eric really was going to tell her, but apparently she was one of those few trustable persons, because he started telling her about the whole incident with the slayer, and about Russell. "And you know all about Russell Edgsington, and why it would be very grave if he is in fact back," he finished off.

"Helvette," **Hell,** Vilda said in a long outtake of breath, "Oh, excuse my bad language, but that is just one hell of a problem."

"Indeed," Eric said and made a short nod.

"I guess you will want to see my mother about this," Vilda stated. Her light and giddy ways were completely changed. She looked serious, and suddenly seemed very much older.

"That is one of the reasons why I'm here," Eric confirmed. "I would very much like her advice about this." Sookie felt more and more curious. Whoever Vilda's mother was, she must be very special for Eric to want her guidance. He very rarely asked anyone for advice, or well, never from what she knew. "Normally, I would've spoken to Godric about it but as you know, he met the true death last year." Eric continued.

"Yes I know," the redheaded woman said and looked sad. "I'm truly sorry about that. He was a very wise person." They both grew quiet, and Sookie suddenly felt like she was in a room with two very ancient people –both lost in inhumanly deep thoughts. The silence didn't bother her for several minutes. She drank a few gulps of tea, and just waited for either of them to start talking again, but as many more minutes past without a word, her legs started to fall asleep. She shifted slightly in Eric's arms, and he suddenly snapped out of whatever thoughts he was in. He looked at her, an almost dazed look in his eyes.

"Sorry," she said and smiled slightly, "I didn't mean to bother you."

"It's okay," he kissed her softly on the top of her head.

"Well I must go," Vilda stood up, she too broken out of her thoughts, "I think you are both in the need of some rest. I'll talk to mother, I'm sure she'll be wanting to speak with you. Russell Edgington always means trouble."

"Keep in touch," Eric said and Vilda nodded. She then looked at Sookie, and gave her a warm smile. The gravity that had shaded her features just seconds ago was swept away, and she once again looked like a carefree girl.

"Maybe I could take you for a stroll around the city some day," she suggested, "If you want a guided tour during daylight hours."

"That would be nice," Sookie smiled back.

"It's a date," Vilda smirked and winked playfully, "Have a nice eh.." she looked at her watch, "Very early morning, and we'll keep in touch." She gave them a slight wave, and left. When the door shut moments later, Sookie turned to Eric.

"Okay, I have like a million questions, so you better be ready with some answers."

**Mini cliffie. Don't worry though, we like Vilda (or at least I do, maybe you all hate her;)). And Sookie isn't angry, just curious. I just had to say that to make sure there are no misunderstandings. Review, give me suggestions on what they should do in Stockholm:)**


	21. Chapter 21

Oh my God, can it be true? Yep, I'm updating again. Enjoy!

Chapter 21

"Okay, I have like a million questions, so you better be ready with some answers."

Eric sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in a very human gesture.

"Guess I'm not getting out of this," he mumbled and kissed down her throat, as he let his hands travel over her back. Sookie made a long, pleasured intake of breath, before remembering herself and pulling away.

"No distractions, you sneaky vampire," she giggled but then looked seriously at him, "Vilda. What is she?" _Here we go. _Eric took a deep breath, bracing himself

"She's an elf," he said, and mentally prepared himself for different, possible reactions to this. Sookie looked at him for a moment, or well, stared wide eyed. Then she blinked a few times, looking as if she was trying to process this information. After another moment of thought, she smirked adorably and giggled, "You mean like pointy-eared Lord of the rings people?"

"Did you see any pointy ears?" He raised an eyebrow but couldn't help but smile as well.

"No but… I mean… C'mon, elves?" she shook her head and bit back her bubbling laughter, "There are vampires, shifters, werewolves, maenads, slayers, fairies, and now… elves? How come this nice little group of supernatural folk never introduced themselves in my life until just now?"

"That is because elves are in many ways like humans," Eric started on what probably would be a quite long explanation, "Though they age differently, get much older, and most of them have a very special connection with nature."

"How old do they get?" Sookie asked curiously.

"Well ten human years are like one year for an elf."

"So even though Vilda looks she is twenty or so…" Sookie said and her voice trailed off as she thought about it

"She is actually almost two hundred years old," Eric finished the sentence for her.

"But they do age?"

"Yes, just very slowly."

"And no one knows about them?" Sookie continued her questioning, and he had already decided to just go with it. God knew the stubborn telepath wouldn't be satisfied until she'd gotten all of her questions answered.

"There are not very many elves in the world, and they have no desire or need to reveal themselves to humans" he said, "Most of them are very peaceful, quiet creatures."

"So they don't develop any scary powers with age, like vampires? Get stronger and that stuff?"

"No, quite the opposite actually. They act like humans when it comes to age. Get wiser, but physically, it weakens them. In age, most of them develop a special bond with nature, learn to talk with trees and-" he was cut short.

"Talk with trees?" Sookie looked as if she would start laughing again.

"That and other hippy-stuff," Eric waved it off, "But what's really impressive is their healing skills. Vilda could probably become a doctor any day, if herbs and hand-laying were allowed as drugs."

"Yeah about her," Sookie decided to move further onto that subject, "How did you two meet? And what about her mother?"

"Well it was about two hundred years ago," he started and prepared himself for another trip down the memory lane, "Godric and I were back in Sweden, after traveling around for several hundred years. We felt like we both could use a break from the rest of the world for awhile, and were living in the woods again. One night, during a hunt, something went very wrong… and Vilda's mother Alma, ended up saving my life."

_Sweden ca 1800_

_The man sitting by the fire looked tired, but at the moment, Eric did not think any closer about it. It was in the middle of the night, and if the human wasn't wise enough to sleep, well then tiredness was to expect. If you traveled alone in the woods, becoming a prey was also to expect._

"_What are you waiting for?" Godric made a fanged grin, "Go," Eric obeyed. In a flash, he was down from the tree branch and had sunken his fangs into the man's neck. But the minute his fangs pierced the skin, and the blood filled his mouth, he felt that something was wrong. The blood didn't only burn as it went down his throat, it tore. It felt as if sharp blades slit his insides, and with a howl of pain, Eric let go of the man and stumbled backwards, clutching his stomach and burning throat. He fell to the ground, curling up into a ball in a desperate attempt to somehow ease the terrible pain. The man took this chance and began to franticly search for a weapon to destroy this monster with, but fell dead to the ground the next second, having his head cut clean off by a blurred shadow. Eric didn't even have to look up to realize who it was._

"_Eric." Godric was kneeling beside him, his grey eyes dark with concern, "Did you swallow the blood?" Eric made a weak nod, even that slight movement was an effort. His body was on fire, but at the same time he was freezing, and he whimpered in pain as his maker cradled him in his arms. _

"_W-what is h-happening?" he rasped out, a mixture of the newly drunken blood and his own pouring from his mouth as he did. _

"_There was something wrong with the blood, but I don't know what" Godric said, and even though Eric was in too much pain to notice it then, fear latched onto the words. The older vampire bit into his wrist and put it to his child's mouth. "Drink," he ordered softly, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. Eric obeyed, but could only take a small gulp before his body started to convulse and he vomited up floods of red liquid. _

"_I can't," he gasped between the convulsions. His vision started to blur, and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. _

"_No, Eric you stay with me now," Godric cupped his face, desperately trying to keep his attention. He said something else. What was he saying? Eric couldn't hear anything. A loud noise filled his ears, and everything went dark. _

"_Eric, NO! Godric couldn't control the panic as he felt how his child slipped into unconsciousness. He tried to think straight, but he couldn't deal with this. Eric was dying in his arms, and he couldn't do anything. Their bond was fluttering, fading quickly, and Godric bit into his wrist again. _

"_That will not help," a soft voice was heard, and Godric's head snapped up. A young woman with long, golden blond hair stood before him. Her pale skin looked almost luminous in the dark, and contrasted starkly against the moss green linen dress she was wearing. The scent that surrounded her was almost unnoticeable. She smelled like the wood itself, like the pine trees, the moss, the rivers. A belt with different bags and bouquets of herbs hung around her hips, an attached to it, there was also a knife. Despite this small weapon, she looked very harmless, but Godric still cradled Eric tightly to his chest and growled threatening. _

"_Fear not," the woman spoke again, "I do not wish to harm you or your child Night walker." _

"_Then why are you here?" _

"_I only wish to help." She came closer, and Godric sprung to his feet, still holding Eric close to him. "Your child has been infected with a disease that rages these lands," the woman said, calm despite the vampire's bared fangs, "My people has fought against it for a long time now, and I can help you heal him."_

"_Why would you want to help me?" Godric hissed, "A savage monster."_

"_I do not judge you Night walker," the blond woman smiled gently, "I am a healer and a guardian of the forest. You have not harmed my people, or these woods, and are therefore no enemy of mine. I can see that you hold a lot of love for your child, and it would hurt me to see you two be forced apart by this cursed disease." Godric retracted his fangs. The woman's words seemed sincere, and right now, she was his only hope. Her inhuman scent and behavior spoke that she was indeed more than human, and that helped him to feel slightly calmer. _

"_Alright then," he said and met the woman's green eyes, "I trust you."_

"_I am glad that you do," she smiled her strange smile again, "My village is only a mile from here, but we must hurry, he does not have much time left," she looked at the unconscious Eric, and her face grew concerned, "Run as fast as you can in that direction," she pointed to show him the way, "My village lies by the river, tell them that Alma sent you, and I shall be with you as soon as I can." Godric did not hesitate, but set of in the given direction, letting his legs carry him as fast as they could over the damp ground. It didn't take him many minutes to reach the river, and he saw a group of houses. They were made of dark grey stone, making them blend in with the rocks on the riverbank, and the roofs were covered in living, growing grass. The flickering, warm light from a fire came from the middle of the small village, and laughter and singing could be heard. Godric continued towards the houses, and when he'd almost reached the closest one, he saw a silhouette. _

"_Who's there?" a man's voice came through the darkness, and the owner emerged from the shadows. He was tall and slender to the built, and red hair fell down past his shoulders. Any human would already be pointing a weapon against the stranger, but this man simply stood there, calmly waiting for Godric to come forth. Godric was almost sure that the man couldn't see him, unless his vision was as sharp as a vampire's, and he decided to present himself before letting the man see him. _

"_I am Godric," he said, after which he stepped forward, allowing the man to get a clear view of him. The man's face showed first surprise as he saw the vampire, and clear concern as he laid eyes on Eric, who still was very much unconscious. _

"_You are a Night-walker," the man stated, "What brings you here?" _

"_My child has been infected with some kind of disease," Godric began to explain, "I met a woman -she said her name was Alma- in the woods, she told me to bring him here, and that you could heal him."He was putting his last hopes to this, and relieve welled over him when the man nodded. _

"_I see," he said calmly, "Follow me." Godric did. This was unusual for him, following someone else's lead. He was used to being the master of his world, to be the one to command, and all this made him feel helpless. He couldn't do anything to help Eric himself, but simply had to trust these strange people of the woods. The man strode quickly into the closest house, ignoring the wondering glazes from the people sitting around the fire outside. Godric kept his eyes on Eric, still hoping for some kind of life signs. There were none. Eric was lying perfectly still in his arms, blood staining his ghostly pale face and his blond hair mattered with the same red liquid. _

_The room they entered was sparsely furnished, a fireplace and a table with chairs around, and if there were any more things in the room, Godric didn't notice them, for the man continued into another room, where a large bed was placed. _

"_Put him there." He pointed at the bed, and even though his voice still was gentle, Godric felt a sting in his chest. He did not want to let go of his child even for a moment, but he forced himself, thinking of that was the only chance he had. Carefully, he placed Eric in the bed, brushing away a few strands of blond hair from his face in the process. _

"_Johannes?" The woman –Alma- who he'd met minutes earlier, called from outside the house. _

"_I'm in here," the man by Godric's side answered, and Alma came through the door. She looked palpably relieved as she saw Godric, and moved swiftly to crouch down next to the bed. "Could you tell Vilda to come and help me?"she asked the man, and he nodded and left them. "Vilda is my daughter," Alma turned to Godric, sensing that he did not like the idea of more people in the room, "She is very skillful with herbs." She turned her attention back to Eric, and reached out a hand to touch his throat. Godric instantly swept to grab her wrist, growing low as he bared his fangs. _

"_Do never," he said and stared threatening at her "Touch my child without my permission," Surprisingly, the woman didn't flinch nor get frightened, she simply looked serenely at him. _

"_I am sorry," she said, still calm, "May I examine him?" Godric let go of her wrist and made a short nod. Alma started to gently room her hands over Eric's exposed neck, and after only a few seconds she stated, "It is the same disease." _

"_Can you heal him?" Godric asked, feeling his insides clench painfully as he waited for her answer. _

"_I believe so," Alma said, "But the poisonous blood has to come out." Before Godric could ask how that was going to happen, another person entered the house. It was a small girl, with long, bright red hair made into a long braid. She looked like she was just a few years old, but there was something in her eyes that made Godric feel like she was more than just a small child. _

"_Vilda, could you make a tea of these herbs?" Alma tore of several bundles of different herbs from her belt and handed them to the girl, who nodded and disappeared out to the small kitchen. _

"_He cannot drink anything but blood," Godric said as he sank down on the foot of the bed, "It will make him sick." _

"_I know," Alma answered, "That is the only way to make his body dispose the blood." Godric wanted to argue with that. The mare thought of having to see Eric go through that pain made him shudder, but he realized it was the only way. Alma disappeared for a moment, and returned with a wooden bucked and a wet cloth. _

"_Try waking him up." she handed Godric the cloth and put the bucket on the floor, "Vilda will be here with the herb tea soon, and you need to make sure he drinks it. It will make him sick, but once the infected blood has been disposed, he will begin to heal. I will come back soon." She smiled soothing, and left. Godric gently cradled Eric's lifeless body in his arms, and used the wet cloth to wipe the blood from his face. Eric reacted on the coldness, and began to stir slightly. He moaned and tried to turn away from the cloth, but Godric held him still. _

"_You need to wake up, little one," he coaxed gently, and Eric's eyelids began to flutter. Slowly, he opened his blue eyes and looked up at his maker. He didn't say anything, just looked, and Godric saw the raw pain in those blue eyes he loved so much. _

"_Here you go," Vilda came into the room and handed him a cup of brown colored liquid. She quickly disappeared again, and Godric took a deep breath, bracing himself. _

"_Eric," he said gently, "You need to drink this. It won't taste good, but you will feel better afterwards." The younger vampire made a slight movement with his head, something that could be taken as a nod, and Godric put the mug to his lips. Eric obediently swallowed the content in one gulp, and instantly, he started to gag. Godric took the bucket and did just have time to place it in his lap before Eric started to vomit heavily. The strokes were violent, and blood rushed from his mouth, time after time, and Godric did his best to comfort him through it. He held back his hair and whispered soothing words of affection, until almost an hour later, when it was finally over. Eric fell back into his arms, trembling and with exhaustion induced blood tears striping his face. It wasn't until then Godric realized he too had blood drying on his cheeks. Blood tears he hadn't even noticed he'd spilled through it all._

"_It's over now," he mumbled and softly wiped away the tears from his child's face. "You will be okay." Eric smiled weakly, and his eyes closed. He fell back into nothingness, but this time, it was just a peaceful, well needed rest. Godric sat there and watched his sleeping child, until Alma's soft steps approached. _

"_Is he better," she asked. _

"_I believe so," Godric said and smiled, he was now so grateful he didn't know how to thank her. "He's just tired." _

"_It's understandable." Alma smiled as well, a much more sparkling sight than her previous smiles. "You should get some rest to. The room is safe from sunlight, but if you do not wish to stay here, I can arrange for a hole to be dug." _

"_I would be very grateful if you let us stay here," Godric said, and Alma looked happy. _

"_I'm glad that you've come to trust me," she said. "I hope I will see you in the evening." She stepped out of the room. _

"_Thank you for everything," he said before she closed the door. _

"_You are welcome." _

"Godric told me about it when I came to again the next night. I didn't remember much myself," Eric smiled crookedly at the memory, which at the time had felt like a frightful nightmare, but had turned out to become an important friendship.

"Did you ever find out what disease it was?" Sookie asked softly and leaned against his shoulder, relaxing from the tensed position she'd had all through the story.

"No," Eric shrugged, "It disappeared, as far as I know."

"I can understand why you have a special friendship with this woman," Sookie smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

"Yes, even though I don't remember the first meeting with her, I've always been amazed with how she acted that night. Not many people would've done the same."

"I'm glad that you shared this with me," Sookie looked up at him, and he leaned down to meet her lips in a soft kiss.

**Phew. If you only knew what I went through to get this done for you. I sat up all night (no kidding, it's six in the morning here in Sweden now). But I really wanted to give you guys an update, since I'm going away (again), but only for a weak this time. I hope you enjoyed the long back story. Even though it took me all night, I still enjoyed writing this chapter. Maybe it sucks, at this point I'm not sure I'm capable of seeing that myself. Please help me through this day, in which I will be extremely tired, by reviewing;)**


	22. Chapter 22

**I'm back (again) I came home yesterday, and wrote this as soon as I got to my computer. Kinda quick, don't you think ;) I was very happy to see all the reviews. I think it was a chapter record**.

_"Godric told me about it when I came to again the next night. I didn't remember much myself," Eric smiled crookedly at the memory, which at the time had felt like a frightful nightmare, but had turned out to become an important friendship._

_"Did you ever find out what disease it was?" Sookie asked softly and leaned against his shoulder, relaxing from the tensed position she'd had all through the story._

_"No," Eric shrugged, "It disappeared, as far as I know."_

_"I can understand why you have a special friendship with this woman," Sookie smiled and wrapped her arms around him._

_"Yes, even though I don't remember the first meeting with her, I've always been amazed with how she acted that night. Not many people would've done the same."_

_"I'm glad that you shared this with me," Sookie looked up at him, and he leaned down to meet her lips in a soft kiss._

Sookie had to break their kiss as she was overwhelmed by the sudden need to yawn. She reached up and rubbed her eyes, realizing that she was most surely in a most desperate need of some sleep. So much for trying to sleep at night and be awake during the day, like normal people. Eric smiled and kissed her again.

"Tired?"

"Mhm," Sookie yawned again and leaned against his shoulder. "Feels like i could just sleep for a hundred years or so."

"It will be dawn soon," Eric said and looked to the window, "So lets give us both something nice to dream about." He rose and Sookie giggled as she was carried in true bridal-style to the bedroom.

* * *

Eric POV

Eric faintly noted the automatic shutters swing into closed position, indicating that dawn was not very far away. He looked down at the woman sleeping in his arms, smiling in a way that probably looked idiotic. Sookie was lying snuggled up against his chest, eyes closed and face peaceful. He stroked her softly over the blond hair, carefully brushing away a few strands from her angelic features. It was almost unbelievable that she was finally in his arms, that she was finally his. If someone a year ago would've told him that he would want a human, a part fairy even, for anything else than a feed and a fuck, he would've dismissed it, laughed. Now, he could barely imagine a day without Sookie. He had fallen fast, and hard. It was illogical really, the things she made feel. She made him want to be a better person, all for her happiness. The protectiveness he felt when she was in his arms, was almost to much to deal with. There was nothing he wouldn't do to protect her from harm, and that almost made him want to push her away. Because being with him, she was in constant danger. He would kill for her, no one would ever lay a hand on her if he could prevent it, but there were things beyond his control. Russell Edgington. Eric now bitterly regretted not killing him when he'd had the chance. It had been selfish, and foolish to believe someone like Russell could be controlled. But he would find a way to keep Sookie safe, it wasn't optional.

He held her warm body closer to him and buried his face in her hair, telling himself he would be able to protect her, that she would never leave him. It was a lie of course. She was a human, death would eventually claim her. She would wither away and die, and leave him alone to an eternity without her. The only thing that could change that was if he turned her. But Sookie didn't want to be a vampire, and Eric couldn't bear the thought of living lifetimes with her resenting him. Without her though, he wasn't sure if he would survive now. He shouldn't have let it happen, but it was to late now. Eric knew that as much as Sookie was his, he was hers.

The sun was beginning to pull in him, and without finishing his next thought, Eric fell into a dead sleep.

* * *

Sookie POV

The sharp tone of a doorbell awoke her, brutally tearing her out of the dream world. Eric's relaxed arms slumped back onto the bed as she sat up, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to make the daze go away. The persistent doorbell rang again.

"I'm coming," she mumbled to herself as she stumbled out of the bed, only to realize she had no clothes, other than those spread in a trail from the kitchen to the bedroom. And the luggage hadn't arrived yet. Oh yes what a wonderful way to start the day. Or well, it was nearly midday she realized as she glanced at the watch. She hurriedly grabbed the garment closest at hand, Eric's teeshirt, and pulled it on. It went down over her butt and a bit over her thighs, and right now, that would have to do. As she went to open the door to make the infernal ringing stop, she was hit by the thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea opening it. Eric was asleep, and she wasn't too keen on the idea of having people in the apartment then. Though then she heard a muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"Sookie." It was Vilda calling, "If you are awake, would you mind opening. I think you will be happy to see what I've brought."

"I'm coming!" Sookie hurried to close the bedroom door, and jogged through the hall. She unlocked the door and was met by a –pile of suitcases.

"I brought your luggage," a smiling Vilda informed from behind the small mountain.

"I can see that," Sookie laughed briefly, before taking the two top bags and pulling them inside. Vilda followed, pushing in the remaining ones.

"Sorry if I woke you up," she excused herself and brushed away the wild hair from her face, only to have it falling back. _Nope, definitely no pointy ears here. _Sookie noted as the redhead tucked the persistent hair behind her ears.

"I'm actually glad you woke me up," she then said, and smiled, "I don't want to sleep away the whole day."

"Phiew," Vilda gestured with her hand over her forehead to underline her relieve. "Lucky that you aren't one of those people who get all grumpy when they are woken up by strangers who invade their home with a ton of luggage and themselves."

"You just saved my day, brining me my clothes," Sookie waved it of, "How could I possibly be grumpy then?"

"I thank you for your un-grumpiness," Vilda said solemnly and reached out a hand for her to take, "My mission here is completed."

"Don't you want to stay and have something to eat?" Sookie offered, "I need something in my belly, and it's nearly lunch time."

"Oh but I don't want to take advantage of you when I'm coming all uninvited."

"It's the least I can do," Sookie insisted.

"Okay then," Vilda gave up, "It would be rude of me to say no."

"Exactly," Sookie smiled, "Just go into the kitchen and I'll be there as soon as I'm dressed." Vilda disappeared to the kitchen, and Sookie grabbed her suitcases and dragged them to the bedroom. She managed to open the door with her elbow and pushed them inside, before closing the door again. Not that she didn't trust Vilda, but it felt safer that way, with Eric being asleep and all. She looked over to her sleeping lover, and was as usual stunned over how serene he looked. During the night, Eric was so very much alive. He was her strong Viking vampire, possessive, cunning and infuriating at times, yet caring and sweet with her. But during the day, he was little more than a sleeping angel. It made her feel protective of him, a strange feeling to have of someone so powerful. She went over to the bed, and pulled up the comforter from where it had slipped down from his sculptured torso, tucking him in slightly. She then placed a tender kiss on his pale cheek, before returning to pick out her outfit for the day. After thinking for a moment, she decided on a light purple sundress and a white cardigan. She went out in the hallway, closing the door carefully behind her, before returning to the kitchen, where Vilda was already shuffling around pots and pans on the stove. Something was frying in one of the pans, and water was bubbling in another.

"Oh sorry for being all super intruding now," she turned to Sookie, "But since I'm the one who stocked the fridge, I figured you might have a hard time coming up with a recepie just like that. Not that I'm doubting your cocking skills, " she hurriedly added before returning to stir in the frying-pan.

"No I'm just grateful," Sookie assured, "It's very kind of you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Vilda said with a smile, "I love cooking. Though I hope you don't mind vegetarian."

"Of course not." Sookie went over to look down in the pan, "What are you making?"

"Ratatouille. Or well, it's just fancy language for vegetable stew."

"Can I do anything?"

"Well if you take over stirring in this," Vilda said as she handed Sookie the spoon,"I'll do some more chopping," she grabbed a knife and a cutting board, and went over to cutting up tomatoes. Sookie began to investigate the red stew in the pan, wondering if Vilda had any cooking skills. She gave it a taste, and decided that yes, she could most surely cook.

"So," she glanced at Vilda, who was fully concentrated at chopping, "What do you do for a living?" Okay, it was kind of a random way to start a conversation. So what? Vilda didn't seem to mind though.

"I own a flower shop here in town, and have an apartment a few blocks from here" she started, "Though I prefer the country, and I have a part time job on my uncle's farm." Sookie nodded. All she really wanted to go nuts and start bombing her with questions, but she wasn't sure how to start. What was she suppose to say? _Hey, I just found out that you are an elf, tell me more._ That would just be weird. She didn't have time to think more about it though, because suddenly, she heard a panic filled scream. Vilda dropped the knife in the shock, and stared wide eyed at Sookie.

"Eric," Sookie mumbled, not sure if it was to herself or to Vilda. She rushed to the bedroom, tearing the door open. Eric was sitting up in the bed, gasping and staring wide eyed into nothingness.

"Eric, baby," she ran to him and cupped his face, trying to get his attention, "What's wrong?"

At first, he just stared at her without actually seeing her, but after a moment, he seemed to come out of whatever trance he was in, and met her gaze. His eyes were filled with something she'd never seen there before, shear panic.

"Something happened to Pam," he said under his breath.

"What?" Sookie didn't want to believe what he was saying.

"Something happened to Pam," Eric repeated, stronger this time, "I can't feel her through our bond."

"Doesn't that have to do with the distance?" The explanation was ridiculous of course, but Sookie just couldn't handle the information.

"No," Eric shook his head and reached for his phone on the nightstand, somehow being able to pull out of his petrified state. Without another word, he dialed a number. A tone beeped, but as almost a minute went by without an answer, Eric cursed in Swedish and dialed a new number. More dialing tones, more wait, but still no answer. A small lake of blood started to seep from his ears and nose, his body protesting against being awake at this hour, but Eric didn't seem to give a shit about it. He sat frozen, waiting for an answer.

"She is not answering her phone," he stated in a frightful calm after a several minutes wait, "And no one at Fangtasia is answering."

"Maybe they are just closed?" Sookie wasn't sure why she kept coming up with these ridiculous questions, but she was desperately trying to come up with an explanation that meant that Pam was okay.

"It's three in the morning there," Eric kept his tone calm, but it was the kind of calm she by now knew as just a very good act. "Even if they are closing up, Pam should at least answer her cellphone." He dialed a number again, and this time, after a few tones, someone picked up. A shrilled voice came from the other side of the line, rambling incoherently. Eric was obviously trying to make out what the hysterical person was saying, but soon gave up.

"Calm the fuck down Ginger!" he shouted into the phone, "What the fuck is going on? Why is no one answering?" More noise came from the phone, and Sookie waited anxiously. She watched as Eric's jaws clenched, and how his eyes widened. This could not be good news. After a moment of listening to the panic-stricken woman, he slowly put the phone down.

"What is going on?" Sookie asked, her voice a mare whisperer.

"Fangtasia has been attacked," Eric said and opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, as if trying to find the words, "By Russell Edgington's werewolves. And Pam is gone."

**Oh my God, what will happen? What happened to Pam? I know, but you don't. hehe;)**

**No lemons (just an invisible one) and a cliffhanger. Right now, a couple of thousand people hate me. That feels good. Or not. Please don't hate me. I wasn't in a very lemony mood, and I can only write what I'm in the mood for, otherwise it sucks, a lot. Review, even if you all hate me right now.**


	23. Chapter 23

**See, I do have a heart. I'm already giving you a new chapter.**

Sookie sat in the kitchen, watching anxiously as Eric paced back and forth in the hallway like a trapped animal, holding his cellphone in a convulsive grip. She'd made a weak attempt to make him stay in the bed, thinking of what the bleeds did to him, but had given up quickly, as Eric had given her a look, and Vilda had dragged her to the kitchen, mumbling that this probably was something she should stay out of. Sookie had wanted to protest, but swallowed that urge. Vilda had practically forced her to eat, not that she was hungry, but Vilda had calmly pointed out that she wouldn't help Eric by fainting, and so she had done as she was told. At the moment, Vilda was acting more like a wise mother than a young woman, keeping an amazing calm through it all, and for that Sookie was endlessly grateful. It felt good having someone to lean a bit on, yes, for once, she actually liked having someone telling her what to do. And at the moment, there was nothing she could do. Just sit here and feel like a nervous wreck. She tried to tell herself that everything would be okay. Pam would be okay. She had to be.

"Drink this," Vilda handed her a cup with hot liquid, "It's calming."

"What is it?" Sookie accepted the cup, but very skeptically.

"Just my own mixture of tea and herbs. Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. Weird, but not dangerous." Vilda gave her a calming smile, and Sookie returned it, faintly. She glanced out to the hallway, where Eric was still walking back and forth, as if he'd decided to make a hole in the floor. He'd only bothered to put on a pair of jeans, and blood striped his chest as it slowly seeped down from his ears and nose. The sight worried Sookie to say the least, but there wasn't much she could do.

"I don't care if they've ripped the place to fucking shreds," Eric hissed into the phone."I want to know who was the last person who saw my progeny, and I want to know it now. Or I can assure you that those wolves will seem like cute puppies compared to what I will be like when I get there." He wiped away the blood seeping down over his lips with a frustrated motion, ignoring his body persistently trying to make him rest. He wouldn't rest until he'd found out what happened to Pam, and he didn't care if he would bleed out by doing so. Ginger was rambling on the other end of the line, crying hysterically as she tried to get out full sentences. "Is Chow there?" Eric forced himself to calm down, needing to do something rational as Ginger wasn't to any help. A choked yes was heard, and after a moment, Chow was on the line.

"Chow," the Asian vampire sounded just as calm as always.

"It's Northman," Eric said, "I want you to tell me exactly what happened."

"We were just closing up when those wolves showed up," Chow began, "I wasn't in the room at the time, but I heard Ginger scream and-"

"Was Pam there?" Eric cut him off.

"I don't know," Chow said, a hint of nervousness in his voice now, "I was in the basement, but when I heard the screams, I ran up. A wolf was on me the minute I entered the room, and there was at least three more there-"

"Where was Pam?" Eric couldn't bring himself to care about anything else at the moment, and Chow's explanation felt too long.

"I don't know," Chow said again, "By the time I'd killed the wolf, and could take in the situation, she was gone. I don't know if she left on her own or was taken by one of the wolves. I managed to kill two more wolves, but two got away."

"Do the authorities now about the attack?"

"No. No humans were involved, and we haven't reported it yet."

"Well at least you've done one fucking thing right," Eric snarled, "Not a word about this to the authorities, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"You will start searching for the wolves tonight. Contact Alcide, and get him to help. I will be there by tomorrow night," Eric ordered, "And I strongly advice you to find them, if you don't have a death wish." He hung up, and suddenly felt completely drained.

"You do realize that it would be idiotic to go back?" Vilda was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, giving him a serious look, "You would be playing Russell straight into his hands."

"I have to go back," Eric said coldly, "I don't have any other options."

"_Not_ going back to a psychopathic killer would be an option," Vilda stated "How would it help Pam if you got yourself killed?"

"I need to know what happened to her," he raised his voice, "She might be kidnapped, or injured… or dead."

"And if she is in fact dead, she will continue being that," the elf put up her cold side, "And if she isn't, the best way to help her is to keep yourself alive." Eric was just about to start shouting at her, feeling that that was the last drop, but a knock on the door was heard, and he stopped himself.

"I called mother," Vilda informed, "No matter what, you can't leave until sunset, and hopefully, she can talk some sense into you before that. Now get yourself into the kitchen and close the door. The apartment may be light tight, but the stairwell isn't." Eric just stared at her for a moment, but was suddenly too tired to make any further objections. He'd almost forgotten how infuriating the elf could be. How was it that all women that had some kind of impact on his life, was all just as stubborn as him. Sookie, Pam, Vilda. It must be something wrong with him. He gave the redhead a dark glare, which she thoroughly ignored, and walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. Sookie was sitting on the kitchen sofa, looking down into a large cup. Whenever Vilda was around, so was her weird herbal mixtures, and apparently, it had done it's magic with Sookie, who looked much calmer now than when she'd tried to make him stay in bed. She turned her brown eyes to meet his, and made a faint, comforting smile. He tried to return it, but didn't quite manage to.

"Here," Sookie held up a cloth and gestured for him to sit next to her, "Thought you might need something for the bleeds." Eric was silently thankful that she didn't try to make him sleep. Even though he desperately needed to, he knew he wouldn't even be able to close his eyes as long as he didn't know what had happened to his child. He slumped down on the sofa, and gratefully accepted the cloth. The blood pouring down his over mouth was the most bothering, and he put the cloth under his nose to slow it down. Silent voices speaking in Swedish was coming from the hall, and soon the kitchen door was opened, and Vilda entered, followed by her mother. Alma was looking just like he remembered her, even though it had been almost fifty years. A few new lines in her face, and even more wisdom in her green eyes, but the long, blond hair, and her graceful movements were all the same.

"Hello Eric," she said in her soft, motherly voice. "I really do wish that we could see each other under different circumstances."

"Indeed Alma," he answered, "Though I'm happy to see you."

"The feeling is mutual," the blond woman smiled gently, before turning her eyes to Sookie, who was silently studying the newcomer. "Sookie Stackhouse I presume," Alma went over to the waitress and reached out a hand, "My name is Alma Karlsdotter."

"Yes, Eric told me about you," Sookie took her hand, and smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure meeting _you_," Alma answered in a way that indicated that she already knew who Sookie was, "My daughter told me about you. Unfortunately, further presentations have to wait, as we have quite the situation to deal with here." Alma sat down on the chair opposite to them, but Vilda made a swift motion and positioned herself on the counter top instead. "I heard Pam had gone missing."

"Yes," Eric answered and put the cloth down to be able to speak properly, ignoring that the blood instantly started dripping down on his chest. "Did Vilda tell you about Russell?"

"She did," Alma confirmed, "I've been thinking a lot about the problem. Because I'm sure your plan is to run back to his waiting arms to save Pam, which would be the worst solution possible."

"Well you are welcome to share your thoughts," Eric said, feeling utterly defeated at the moment, "I'm out of ideas."

"I presume you have people searching for the wolves," the elf said and Eric nodded, "Then I suggest you wait until you hear from them before making any stupid, rash decisions. Besides, it's still daylight, and you can't do anything, not even something stupid, until sunset" Eric saw the logic in this reasoning, but it pained him. How could he just sit here and wait, when Pam was in danger?

"Waiting it is then," he mumbled, more to himself than to the rest of the room. Sookie laid a soothing hand on his arm, and laid her head against his shoulder. Eric leaned against her, putting the cloth to his nose to prevent blood from dripping onto her. They just sat there in silence, waiting as the minutes passed. Eric listened to Sookie's steady heartbeats, the sound calming him, and tried to push away all the unwelcomed thoughts from his mind. His head was throbbing with pain by now, and he did his best to ignore it as he waited for his phone to ring, for something to happen. Then, suddenly, he felt his bond with Pam flare to life, and he straightened up in such a rush, Sookie jumped in surprise. The both elves were snapped out of their thoughts, and Vilda turned from staring out the window, to looking questioning at him, and Alma gave him the same, wondering look.

"What is-" Sookie started but silenced herself as he shook his head and pulled up his phone, dialing the number to Pam. He silently prayed to whatever God there was that someone would pick up, and was indescribable relieved to hear a click as someone did.

"Pam here." Eric had never been happier to hear his progeny's voice, and he felt how the hand clenching his insides loosened its grip. Pam was alive. She was alive.

"What the hell happened to you?" He almost shouted, all the tension letting go at once.

"Calm down Eric," Pam said, "I'm fine now."

"Fangtasia was attacked-" he started but didn't get to finish the sentence,

"By Russell's weres, I know," Pam snorted, "One of those filthy doormats somehow managed to knock me out. I think he was trying to take me somewhere, but was to fucking stupid to tie me up with silver. I woke up, and he was sorry, end of story."

"I can't fucking believe I left you," Eric sighed, "I'm coming home."

"NO fucking way." Now, it was Pam's turn to shout, "Russell is searching for you, quite desperately by the looks of it. The wolves have been at your house, it's turned completely upside down. The most stupid thing to do right now is to come back here."

"Well then you are coming here," Eric used his maker- tone, but Pam just sighed.

"I can't. If he is watching me, then I'll lead him straight to you. Besides, someone has to keep up the façade for the authorities and that infernal Nan Flanigan."

"You can't stay there," Eric insisted.

"Russell is running out of ways to get to us without exposing himself," Pam reasoned, "Sookie made the process short with his slayer, and after tonight, I'm not sure how many wolves he has left. If he decides to come after me himself, it won't matter if you are here or not." Eric hated to admit that her logic was flawless. "Besides, you have Sookie now," Pam added in an uncharacteristic soft voice, "Who is suppose to protect her if you dies?"

"Pam, få mig inte att försöka välja mellan er," **Pam, don't try making me chose between you two,** Eric spoke in Swedish to prevent Sookie from hearing.

"Jag försöker inte få dig att välja någon,"** I'm not trying to make you chose anyone**, Pam said impatiantly "Jag försöker bara få dig att inse att hon faktiskt behöver dig mer än jag just nu. Jag klarar mig. Om det blir nödvändigt gömmer jag mig,"** I'm just trying to make you realize that she needs you more than I do right now. I will be fine. If nessecary, I'll hide**. Eric couldn't keep arguing with his child. Pam was right. He could never chose between his progeny and Sookie, but with her fay- heritage, Sookie was a more coveted pray in this.

"Var försiktig mitt barn," **Be careful my child**, he whispered softly, and could almost see Pam's crooked smile

"Det ska jag,"**I will**, she promised, "Att veta att du är trygg är allt jag behöver." **Knowing that you are safe is all I need**. She hung up, and Eric leaned back against the wooden back of the couch.

"Let me guess," Sookie gave him a warm smile, "Pam is alright."

"Yes," he said and smiled in relieve, "Yes she is alright." Eric's eyelids began to feel heavy, and now when he knew that Pam was safe, he couldn't hold against the day pulling him towards sleep. Before Sookie could make any further questions, the completely exhausted vampire had slumped down against her shoulder, and was dead to the world.

**See, can I come out from my hiding place now? I didn't kill Pam (of course I didn't, I'm not that evil) and from now on (spoiler alert, if you don't want to know anything about what's coming, don't read any further) I'll leave her alone.**

**To something else: Alma has entered the story, in present time and not only in flashbacks. More elf stuff in the next chapter. I do believe Alma has some more ideas to help Eric out of his sticky situation. Maybe. We'll see.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello people! Another chapter is here.**

When Eric awoke for the evening, he was met by Sookie's brown eyes and her warm smile. He was lying with his head in her lap, still on the kitchen sofa.

"God morning…. Or well god night," Sookie smiled and ran a soft hand through his hair. If Eric had been a cat, he would've purred.

"You haven't spent all day being a human pillow I hope?" he asked as he sat up and stretched his muscles.

"Nope, I just wanted to give you something nice to wake up to." Sookie said, "I've been on a short tour around the city with Vilda and Alma."

"So, what did you think?"

"Well it was super interesting-" and Sookie began to tell him about her day. About the places, the views, the people the food. She was very giddy, and talked in a speed that would've made most people dizzy.

"Do you think they know that I'm part fairy?" She suddenly broke her rambling and looked questioning at him instead.

"What?" Eric found himself slightly confused by her sudden question. "Why do you think that?"

"I don't know," she said and furrowed her brow, "It was just the way Alma talked to me. Like she knew that I was…. `something else´ _and _ that she knew, that _I_ knew what she is. Though she didn't seem bothered with it."

"Well Alma always seem to know a bit more than everyone else," Eric shrugged, "That is why I seek her guidance. And even though I'm not sure how elves and fairies generally feel about each other, I could never imagine Alma treating anyone badly because of what they are. She always wants to help."

"Oh yes that reminded me," Sookie snapped her fingers to underline her realization. "She wanted us to come to her house tomorrow night. Said she wanted to discuss the whole Russell situation further in person."

"That sounds wise," Eric said.

"Where does she live?" Sookie wondered if Alma, just as Vilda, had an apartment in Stockholm. Though she doubted it. While Vilda had moved swiftly among the people on the streets all day, Alma seemed to be more interested in the trees growing by the side of them. And as they walked over one of the long bridges, as Vilda told her all about when this particular part of the city had been built, Alma had mostly stood by the railing, staring down at the water. It had looked like she had some kind of silent conversation with the dark depths. Sookie got the impression that even though Vilda was very knowing of the nature around her, her mother seemed to be almost part of it. It seemed most likely that someone like Alma never would feel at home in a city.

"She lives quite a bit outside Stockholm," Eric answered her question and confirmed her thoughts, "In the middle of virtually nowhere. Did she have any ideas of how to deal with the problem?"

"Well that part was a bit odd," Sookie thought back, "She said she might be able to _reach_ someone who could help. But she had to wait until the moon was in some kind of new state."

"Didn't she say who it was?"

"No. She didn't want to us to get our hopes up if she didn't succeed." Sookie sighed in resignation. "I don't know, she was all ancient and deep. I'm not sure I got even half of the stuff she said there for awhile."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Eric said, franticly trying to understand the meaning of the words. They were both silent for awhile. Sookie fell deep into thoughts, pondering what she'd experienced the latest week. She'd found Eric dying on the side of the road. Saved him twice. Killed a person (okay slayer, but still). Traveled to a new country. Met elves. And most importantly, discovered a whole new side of Eric. Discovered that there was more to him than just badass vampire. That he could be caring and sweet. And she found herself with all these new feelings for him. She was having feelings she hadn't ever believed she would even associate with Eric. But now, she had them. She just hadn't dared to put a label on them yet…

"No let's do something to get that thoughtful expression of your face," Eric suddenly snapped her out of thoughts.

"Are you thinking about mind blowing sex?" Sookie smirked and the vampire scooped her up in his arms.

"Is there another way?" he wondered as he stood up and kissed her while walking towards the bedroom.

"There probably is. But I think sex is by far the best," Sookie decided.

They reached the bedroom and Eric sat her down on the bed and began to remove her clothing. Her cardigan and dress were swiftly removed and tossed aside.

"I will make you forget reality for awhile lover," Eric whispered and ran a hand through her hair, "But you will have to stay completely silent," She nodded, and smiled in anticipation at the twist as Eric gently pushed her down to lying position.

Eric slowly began to undress as he watched her intensely, his blue eyes burning with desire. Sookie so badly wanted to say something, but his eyes told her that she had to keep her promise. He began to kiss her all over her body, and only when he reached her lips, she kissed back, because she was all his now. His mouth wandered down her neck as he slowly slid her underwear off, piece by piece. His lips found her nipples and he moaned, as if to show her that he enjoyed it as much as she did. Her center was already wet and throbbing, even though Eric's magical hands hadn't been anywhere near it. She silently begged that he would touch her, and as if he knew what she was thinking, he ran his hand down her belly and down between her thighs. He kissed her and grabbed her legs and spread them apart.

She tried to control herself by concentrating on her breathing and if she hadn't, she would've moaned out loud in pleasure as his fingers slid in between her wet folds. Eric moved on from kissing her mouth to make his way down to her hard nipples. He continued downwards and put one of her legs over his shoulder. Knowing what was coming, Sookie had to fight to not cry out. When Eric had put the other leg over his shoulder, he began to gingerly kiss the insides of her thighs, so close, but still so far away. She moaned loudly in her mind, but didn't make a sound, not to show herself weak by not obeying. When his tongue finally reached her clit, she almost exploded, and she bit her lip. Eric let his tongue wander between her clit and her opening, _breath in, breath out, breath in- _All she could think of was his tongue, penetrating so hard and so good.

"Lover, you are so wet for me," Eric spoke to her without getting an answer. He looked up and smiled, as if to check that she still wanted this. Her eyes glowed with lust, and through wordless communication, she urged him to continue. She was close now, so close to come, but then suddenly, he stopped.

He kissed her deeply, and she kissed him back passionately to show him that she loved everything he was doing. He continued to kiss her as his hand traveled down her body again and with a sudden movement, two fingers pushed into her. He caressed her breasts with one hand as he moved the fingers inside her, and Sookie's breathing quickened. Once again, she was close to coming, and once again, Eric stopped, just as abruptly. Sookie never thought she could feel an arousal like this. It was almost physically painful, but at the same time, so wonderfully pleasurable. Eric once again placed one of her legs over his shoulder, and hooked the other one around his back. With a moan, he came into her, and Sookie arched her back and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Look at me lover," Eric whispered as he began to move inside her, she opened her eyes and met his blue ones. They were filled with lust, happiness, and something else. Love? She didn't get to think more about it, because Eric leaned down and kissed her again, and as his soft lips clashed against hers, and he thrust harder into her, all thoughts fled from her mind. His hand caressed her softly, and that was the little she needed to be brought over the edge to the release she'd waited so long for. She couldn't hold back, but cried out in pleasure as the orgasm ripped her away from reality. She let go of everything and tears welled her eyes and poured down her cheeks, because she didn't know any other way to handle it. Eric kept rocking into her, until he let himself go, and let the orgasm hit him. With a growl of pleasure, he collapsed on her, still managing to hold himself up on shaky arms.

After a few seconds, (or minutes, Sookie didn't really know) Eric carefully slid out of her, and collapsed fully beside her. She instantly curled up to his side and snuggled up against his shoulder.

"Are you okay, lover?" Eric asked softly and wiped away a tear from her cheek.

"Never better," she smiled and kissed him lightly. She lazily swung a leg across his hip and made a satisfied sigh.

"I'm guessing you are planning to stay this way for the remainder of the night?" Eric wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair.

"Yep." Sookie answered simply. "And don't you even think of moving." She closed her eyes, feeling how her lack of sleep was once again making itself known.

"Never," Eric mumbled and settled against her. "Sleep if you want to. I'll stay here." Sookie smiled and drifted off to sleep in the strong arms of her vampire.

Eric once again found himself watching her sleep. Listening to the steady beat of her heart. Listening to her calm breaths. He would never grow tired of hearing those sounds. He had realized that. He had also realized something else. It had come slowly, like fog. You didn't see it until it suddenly was all around you, and you didn't know the way out. Blinding, magical, and… frightening even. The feelings weren't new. He'd had them for Godric, still them it for Pam. He had just refused to put words on them. Refused to acknowledge that he was still capable of them. That he was still capable of loving someone. Because he loved Sookie. He may be damned for doing so, but God, he loved her.

* * *

Outside an apartment in the heart of Stockholm, a brawny, dark haired man stood, his gaze turned to one of the windows. A strange mark on his neck showed under the tangled strands of hair, white against the tanned skin. He studied the window carefully. It was dark now, but he'd seen them there not too long ago. Smiling, kissing. He sneered. His master would be most pleased with him. The vampire had been in a ghastly mood ever since they'd lost that incompetent slayer, and several of his pack members had suffered the consequences. They had almost regretted saving their master from his cement grave. Almost. His master had never been completely sane, but the latest episode had caused him to finally loose the little connection he'd had with reality. He'd been fully obsessed with finding the Viking, and had literally stepped over bodies to do. He was lucky this long shot had paid off. What if he'd been wrong, and traveled all this way only to find nothing? Well, things would've been bad to say the least. Yes, it was most surely time for Northman to take the consequences of his master's wrath, instead of his pack. The were almost shuddered. Thinking of the way his master had punished the ones who had failed to bring Northman's progeny, or well, those who had survived, he didn't really want to think about what the insane, now sadistic, vampire would do to the man he'd been hunting so passionately. No, now was not the time to start growing a conscience. The Viking would get what he deserved

He dialed a number, waiting for an answer. The dialing tone beeped, traveling thousands of miles over the sea. Someone picked up. No introduction was needed, and he knew he wouldn't get one either.

"I found them," he said and sneered broadly again.

A long, wild laugh was heard through the phone, before a strongly southern accented voice drooled, "Wonderful. I'm on my way."

**Okay. I did a cliffhanger. I can't help it, I'm addicted to them. But I also gave you a lemon. So it's not all bad.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Thank you for your reviews, I still get ridiculously happy every time I get them.  
**

**Just to make things clear, the first part here is the ending on the last chapter, but it's also an ending on one of Sookie's dreams, but I think you'll understand when reading.**

_"I found them," the were said and sneered broadly again._

_A long, wild laugh was heard through the phone, before a strongly southern accented voice drooled, "Wonderful. I'm on my way."_

Sookie bolted awake, gasping and looking franticly at her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was. Still dark, still night. She was in a bed-

"Sookie," Eric's strong arms grabbed her gently by the shoulders and he turned her to look at him. "What is wrong?"

"We need to get out of here," she whispered, still shocked from the nightmare.

"Why?" The vampire furrowed his brow and looked questioning at her.

"Someone is watching us," Sookie hissed and scooted out of the bed, before crawling to the window, making sure not to be seen from outside.

"What are you talking about?" Eric still looked confused, but started to realize that something was indeed up as he watched her crawl over the floor. "And what are you doing?" He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, making an attempt to stand up, but Sookie shook her head furiously.

"Stay there," she gestured, before carefully peeking through the window. Just as she'd feared. A man was standing on the street. Definitely the same man as in her dream. He turned his face upwards, and Sookie shot down on the floor again. She scooted over to the bed, to the utterly confused Eric.

"We need to go," she repeated, and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards her on the floor. Eric looked at her as if he thought she'd gone mad, but settled next to her. She had realized when she'd lifted her hand, that she was trembling, and now, Eric put his strong arms around her in an attempt to sooth it.

"Sookie, you need to calm down," he said firmly, "Explain."

"I had one of those stupid vision- dreams Claudine told me about," she said, "One of Russell Edgington's weres is here, in Sweden. Outside our bedroom window." Eric's eyes widened briefly, but he stayed quiet to let her finish. "And he just called Russell, who is right now on his way here." Eric was silent, and for a moment, Sookie started to think that he would just laugh it away and say it was a stupid dream.

"Dawn is twenty minutes away, at most," he then stated, before moving in vampire speed over to the floor to the pile that was their clothes, "I can fly you to Alma's house in twenty five."

"I don't get the math," Sookie protested as Eric pushed her clothes to her over the floor, and she started to do her best getting dressed in hunching position. "There is a five minute gap there in which you will be out in daylight. How are you planning on doing that?" Even if Eric would drink from her, he would only sustain a minute, and that was to stretch it.

"Sun rises slowly. I can be out a minute or two at dawn without getting severely burned," Eric said, as if it was that simple. He had managed to get his clothes on, and Sookie scooted over to him and followed out in the hallway, where they could finally stand up straight without risking being seen. "We'll take the kitchen window," he grabbed her hand and pulled her out in the kitchen, but by now, his previous sentence had sunken in, and Sookie glared furiously at him.

"We need a better plan," she hissed and attempted to stop, but Eric answered with simply picking her up.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" he wondered as he opened the window. Sookie squirmed, but knew it was a lost battle. She was desperate though, to get Eric to NOT risk his life again, but she couldn't come up with any other ideas. Simply killing the wolf wouldn't help. Then they would have a body on their hands to. And they couldn't just stay here. This would of course be the first place Russell came to look. Better plans had to wait. They needed time.

"No," she admitted.

"Then hold on," Eric said, and she did. She wrapped both arms and legs around the vampire's strong body, and the next second, they were out in the air. This was when she realized just how fast Eric could fly. The previous times, it had been like floating. They had been soaring peacefully and when off the ground, she'd felt free from her troubles. Now however, the vampire was using a speed she thought she would never experience. Everything around her was a blur, and her eyes stung when she opened them. Burying her face against Eric's chest, she desperately tried to keep the fear in check. At the moment, she wasn't only worrying about flying in unnatural speed with a vampire only minutes away from dawn, but her main fear was the threat of Russell. It had felt so distant. And now suddenly, it was there. She forced herself not to think about it right now. Her heart was already racing in fear at the speed and the threat of the sun, she couldn't add more to that list.

The more time she could comprehend was passing, the more grew the cold lump of fear in her stomach. She turned her head, and her breath got stuck in her throat. The sky was starting to turn golden in the horizon, the sun threatening close now. She looked up at Eric. His face was stoic, but there was a tension around his mouth and eyes, telling her that he was indeed suffering from the faint light.

"Eric!" she screamed through the wind, "You need to get down!" He ignored her, and somehow managed to increase the speed even more. "It will be dawn any minute!" Sookie screamed again, and right then, the first rays of the sun showed at the horizon. A tremor went through Eric's body, and for a moment of blind panic, Sookie thought he would drop her, but the vampire steadied himself, and to her great relieve, started to go lower down over the woods under them. Within seconds, they had reached the trees and Eric sped down to avoid the branches, and a few seconds later, they were finally on the ground. Eric released her and she immediately pulled away to study the damage. There were no full burns yet, but small wounds were appearing over his bare shoulders and his face, smoke slowly rising from the burning flesh.

"In the ground now!" She virtually shouted and helped him as he fell to his knees and started to dig. With Eric's strength and speed, it only took seconds to make a large hole in the ground, but Sookie felt it as if it had been eternities. Eric leaped down in the hole and reached her his cellphone.

"Call Alma. Tell her that you are a few miles south of the old mill, she'll know what you mean ," he said as she started shoveling dirt over him with frantic movements. "Do not leave here without her. And do not leave her house when you get there-"

"Yes. Shut up now, I need to cover you up," Sookie cut him off. Eric himself might not be worried over burning flesh, but Goddammit, _she _was. Eric gave her a half smirk, before closing his eyes to avoid getting dirt in them as she pushed the last of the dirt over him, finally covering all of the sensitive skin. After making sure there were no possibilities of the sunlight reaching Eric, Sookie collapsed in a heap on the ground. The adrenaline rush was wearing off, and she felt shaky to say the least. Her body was covered in cold sweat and dirt, the latest hour had just been far too much for her, and all she really wanted to do was to curl up into fetal position and cry. Or sleep. Whatever came first. Though Sookie forced herself to do neither of those things. There was time for breakdowns later. Now she needed to get out of this forest. She fumbled with the cellphone in her hands, and scrolled through the contacts. Alma was due to logical reasons almost on the top, and she pushed the "call" button.

"Hallå det är Alma," **Hello, it's Alma**, okay not what she was expecting. Sookie sat there dumbfounded for a moment, before figuring out that she probably should present herself.

"Hello," she began hesitantly "It's Sookie Stackhouse."

"Oh Sookie," Alma exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting it to be you."

"Well, it is me," she said, "I've got kind of a huge problem here-" she quickly told Alma about the whole thing with the were, though she left out the part of how she'd found out about him, and was therefore a bit surprised as the woman didn't question her story.

"Åh kära hjärtanes då," **Oh dear,** Alma mumbled, "Don't worry honey," she then said in a soft, comforting tone, "Vilda will come and pick you up. She'll be there in just a few minutes."

"Okay," Sookie immediately felt relieved that someone else was taking charge. "I'll just wait here."

"You do that," Alma said, "Vilda is on her way."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it dear. I'll see you soon," the elf finished off and after saying good bye herself, Sookie hung up. Now, there was nothing more to do than to wait. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Then she just sat there. Apathetic. She stared at a close by tree trunk, keeping her gaze there. If she didn't think about the situation, she couldn't freak out about it. _Not Russell. Think about anything but Russell. _She must've been sitting there for quite some time, because suddenly, she heard a voice.

"Sookie!" she jumped at the sound and turned around to see a Vilda approaching. She was wearing both a leather jacket and leather pants, and Sookie thouht briefly about it, before realizing that she was staring.

"Vilda," she exclaimed and got to her feet, only to almost slump back down as her legs refused to carry her weight. The redheaded elf was by her side in an instant and steadied her.

"Easy there," she said and held the alarmingly swaying Sookie by her shoulders, "Let's get you to mom's house."

"How did you know where I was?" Sookie wondered as they started to slowly make their way through the forest, she had suddenly remembered that she'd forgotten to tell Alma the `old mill´part.

"The trees told me," Vilda answered simply and nodded to one of the large pine trees. To that, Sookie didn't know how to respond. So she just kept quiet.

They reached a small road. Or road. It was basically just two tire tracks.

"Wow," was all Sookie could say as she caught eye of the motorcycle standing in one of the tracks. _Leather outfit explained. _

"Yep, this is my baby," Vilda said with a smile as she walked up to the vehicle and unlooked the heavy steel chain that was wrapped around one of the tires. "Mom hates it. She says its dangerous blah blah blah…"

"But isn't it?" Sookie asked as she carefully approached.

"Only if you don't know how to drive it," the redhead assured. "And if you don't wear a helmet." She grabbed a helmet, and opened a bag on the side to pick out one that she handed for Sookie to put on. The telepath hesitantly brought the helmet over her blond locks. Vilda swung a leg over the motorcycle.

"Hop up," she encouraged Sookie, who still felt very skeptical about it, but realized that she didn't have much of a choice. She sat up behind Vilda and wrapped her arms around her leather clad waist. For the second time that morning, she was told to hold on, before the motorcycle roared to life. _If I can fly, I can do this too, _Sookie thought to herself as they set of down the bumpy road. Vilda drove fast, but surprisingly steady over the bumps, though Sookie still didn't feel very comfortable. Not that she didn't trust her driving skills, but motorcycles wasn't her thing.

The ride went smooth though, and a few minutes later, she could glance something through the trees' branches. Something white. They were approaching a large house, beautifully imbedded by large oaks. Roses clung on the façade, almost all the way up to the second floor, starkly contrasting against the white. There was no lawn around the house, or well at some point the wild grass might have been a lawn, but now it had grown to look more like a meadow. A small gravel path led up to the house, and Vilda parked the motorcycle by the end of it. She dismounted and helped Sookie, who by now was beyond shaky.

"Let's get you inside." Vilda smiled comforting as they started to walk towards the house. They stepped onto the porch and Vilda opened the door.

"Mom, we're here!"

"Well I'm glad you got here in one piece." Alma came jogging down the stairs, "You know what I think of that monster." Sookie guessed she was referring to the motorcycle and she smiled to herself as Vilda muttered something about being a grown woman, and in no need of people fussing over her. Moms never stopped being moms, no matter how old their kids got.

"How are you Sookie?" Alma walked down the last part of the stair and came to stand before her, studying her worriedly. "You look a bit pale."

"Yeah I guess I am a bit pale," Sookie mumbled absently and looked down on her hands. "And muddy." She added.

"Poor thing." The elder woman shook her head. "I've put out some clean towels and clothes for you in the bathroom. You can take a shower and just rest for a bit before we talk this whole thing through."

"No we need to talk now, and I can't sleep until Eric is here," Sookie protested and shook her head. "We need to come up with something to do, Russell is coming- and and Eric is in the ground- " she was just rambling now, and Alma took her gently by the shoulders, stopping the incoherent string of words.

"Calm down honey," she said, "You need to rest. Eric will be fine. Russell doesn't know that you are here, we have time to figure something out."

"But-" Sookie started.

"Take a shower and then go to bed," Alma took her hand and led her up the stair, "You'll think much clearer after sleeping for a couple of hours."

"Okay." Sookie gave up.

"We have a guest bedroom just over there."Alma pointed at a door further down the short corridor, "I've made the bed for you."

"Thank you." Sookie made a grateful smile, before going into the bathroom and closing the door.

Alma went downstairs and walked into her kitchen, where Vilda was busy making tea. She always made tea when she had nothing better to do.

"_How is she?" _Vilda eyed her worriedly.

"_She is… overwhelmed I think," _Alma said and went to sit next to her daughter, _"It has probably been a very trying couple of days for her." _

"_You are probably right," _the younger elf nodded, _"Though she is handling it quite well." _

"_Yes. She is strong."_

_"Have you thought of any way to help them?" _Vidla asked.

_"Maybe. But I cannot tell you more about it."_Alma sighed, causing her daughter to roll her eyes in annoyance.

_"Why do you have to be so damn mysterious?" _

_"Because what I'm thinking about doing, is to greatly disturb the fragile balance in nature," _Alma said patiently, _"And if I shall have even the slightest possibility of succeeding, it needs to stay a secret."_

_"Just give me a clue." _

_"Very well, but then, we're leaving the subject." _Vilda nodded eagerly.

_"We'll seek help from another vampire," _Alma said. _  
_

_"Someone older than Russell?"_

_"No."_

_"Then how is that helpfull?"_

_ "Older than Eric. It will even the odds."_

_"But wouldn't it be easier to just find someone super old and just let them kick his ass?" _At this Alma had to smile. Vilda could still be so naive_._

_ "There are few vampires who are older than Russell Edgington. And why would they help us?" _

Vilda grew quiet, seeing the logic in this. _"That must mean that the vampire you are thinking about is someone we know,_" she then said, and Alma nodded. _"But you still won't tell me who it is?" _

_"No." _

_"But why?"_

_"I already mentioned the balance in na-"_

_"yeah yeah, the nature's balance, you shall not interfere with the natural order of things blah blah blah."  
_

They were both silent for awhile, before Vilda spoke again. _"I believe Eric told her about us. The elf thing I mean."_

"_I believe so to," _Alma agreed, _"It seems unlikely that he'd keep secrets from her." _

"_I was kind of surprised to see that she was a fairy," _Vilda pondered, _"I didn't think there were any left on Earth these days." _

"_Yes it was quite the surprise." _Alma stood up, deciding that she needed fresh air, _"I will go out and wait for Eric. I need to find some answers." _Vilda nodded in understanding.

Alma went outside, and made her way to the oldest oak tree in the garden, the place she'd always found good in the searching for advice. With a few swift motions, she positioned herself on one of the branches and leaned against the trunk. She closed her eyes and let the tree's conscious seep into her own, seeking for answers in the ancient wisdom. Alma let herself drift off into the never ending string of whispers in the leaves, and when she opened her eyes again, the sun had set. She sat up and stretched the muscles in her neck. Sitting several hours in the same position wasn't very good for the muscles, but at least she had found the answers she was looking for.

"Alma." She looked down and saw Eric standing on the ground. He was covered in mud and dirt, even though he'd tried to wipe some of it off, and she had to smile at the sight. "Shall I come up?" the vampire asked, but she shook her head.

"No, I'm coming down," she said and jumped off the branch, landing softly on the ground.

"Over five hundred years old, and still climbs trees like a ten-year-old," Eric smirked.

"Hush you," Alma admonished, but smiled, "You never talk about a woman's age." She grew serious again, forcing herself to think of the gravity in the situation.

"Let's go inside," she said and started walking back towards the house, "It's safer."

"Is Sookie okay?" Eric asked as he followed her over the meadow that once had been a lawn.

"Yes. She was weary and tired, but I think I managed to get her to bed," Alma stopped and turned to Eric, sighing, "I might have found a solution for the problem, but it will take time. In the best scenario, two weeks, in the worst, several months." _Or not at all. _She didn't say the last part out loud.

"Believe me, I'm open for anything right now." Eric said, and for once, he looked defeated, "I'm hiding. Like a fucking coward. It's not my usual way of dealing with things."

"I know," Alma said softly and laid a hand on his shoulder, "But you have to remember that you are doing this to keep Sookie safe. Because you care about her."

"I love her," Eric said quietly. Alma smiled.

"I know," she whispered, "I realized it the minute I saw you two together."

**See, no cliffhangers. But this is just for now. We're getting to the final chapters of the story, and things will get even more intense from now on. There will about four or five more chapters, depending on how I split the events up. Give me some review love:) **


	26. Chapter 26

**I got nothing, have a good read;)**

Sookie yawned as she sat up in the bed, mostly as a gesture of waking up. She felt almost like a new person, having slept without a single nightmare. And considering the darkness outside her window, she had been out for several hours. She felt a sting of worry. If there was after sunset, why hadn't Eric come yet? Or maybe he had. It was fully possible that he just didn't want to wake her up and stayed downstairs. Deciding to check this theory before starting to freak out, Sookie got out of the bed and reached for the black dress Vilda lent her. Of course it was black, Vilda didn't seem to own anything that wasn't. Even though Sookie herself preferred more colorful garments, she definitely chose this over her own dirtied clothes. She glanced out the window again, just taking a final look to see if there really wasn't any lingering daylight outside, explaining Eric's absence. Seeing nothing but the summer night she turned around again.

"Claudine!" Sookie shrieked. Her fairy godmother was standing in front of her, wearing her usual bridal looking dress. "Oh my God, you almost scared me to death!" Her heart raced as she tried to calm down. Not that she minded her visiting, but this was kind of stalker-ish.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," Claudine said and gave her an apologetic smile. Sookie didn't like it, the smile. It looked –fake.

"Why are you here?" she decided that she didn't mind being rude. Claudine couldn't really complain after just barging in on her. In a complete stranger's house too.

"I- I need to talk to you." A nervous tremble was heard in the fay's voice, and Sookie felt more and more that something was up. Her attention was drawn elsewhere however, as she heard the faint sound of a door opening. Muffled voices came through the house, and even though there was a door and a stair between them, Sookie immediately noticed one of the voices as Eric's. A relieved smile spread across her lips.

"Could we take this later? I just want to go and make sure Eric is okay." She was already at the door when she was stopped by Claudine grabbing her wrist, alarmingly forcefully.

"What the hell?" Sookie hissed and made an attempt to break free, but the fay held her in a freakishly strong grip, "Let me go!"

"Sookie?" Eric's voice came from downstairs. Vampire hearing was really very useful. There was a sweeping sound as Eric came up the stairs, but just as the door was opened, Sookie was blinded by a bright light. The room disappeared, and she was falling. A shrilled sound escaped her in the shock, her stomach was turning inside out and everything was dark. Claudine's hand, which she only moments ago had been trying to get rid of, she was now clinging to as if her life depended on it. Then, as quick as it had started, it was over and they were standing again. Sookie stared wide eyed at her surroundings.

The place they'd come to looked like something taken out of a fairy tale.

They were surrounded by ornamented columns and the floor was made of stone, the whole thing looking like some kind of gigantic porch to the palace she soon discovered. The "porch" was filled with people, seemingly both fairies in their long white dresses, and humans, in ordinary clothes. Once she'd gotten over the initial shock, Sookie turned to Claudine, who by now had released her.

"Okay, I'm not even going to try understanding this! Where are we? Why- Why did you just- sweep me away like that?" Sookie was so angry she stuttered. She was so tired, so fed up with this mysterious fairy stuff.

"It will all be explained to you, but not here," Claudine said in a low voice, obviously thinking of all the people surrounding them.

"NO! I want an explanation NOW!" Sookie shouted.

"Sookie." A calm, male voice came from behind and Sookie turned around. A tall, slender man with long silver blond hair was approaching them, wearing the male version of the fairy outfit, white pants and an oddly wrapped fabric as shirt. His eyes were dark, unreadable, and his facial expression blank. "Come with me please. I will explain it all to you" He took hold of her arm, and Sookie gave up, following this new fairy through the door to the palace, leaving the now staring crowd behind. She decided that the only way she would get any answers from these people would be by obeying. Or at least pretend to for awhile.

The inside of the palace looked surprisingly much like the outside. Same columns, same floor. Though she guessed this was just the hallway. The male fairy silently guided her to some kind of seating area, several puffy chairs around a low stone table. He gestured for her to sit down, and she did. It was only now she realized that Claudine hadn't followed them inside. This bothered her. Even though Claudine –ever mysteriously- basically had kidnapped her, she was still a familiar face. The silver haired fairy was seated across from her, but was silent.

"You said you would explain," she said, forcing her voice to stay strong and confident.

"Yes," the male fairy spoke, "You may ask me anything." _Anything? _Well Sookie had so many questions, she didn't even know where to start. _Names, _she thought, _let's start on names. _

"Well, who are you?" She asked.

"I am your great grandfather, Niall," the fairy said calmly.

"Oh-" was all Sookie got out. There definitely were a lot of questions she would've liked to ask about that, but she forced herself to stay to the pressing matters. Like why the hell she'd been… well kidnapped?

"Why am I here?"

"Sookie," Niall said in a tone which indicated that he was now going to start making a very long speech about something, "You are living a very dangerous life," _Oh yes, here it goes, _"For a fairy to socialize with vampires, having a vampire lover, well that is just very risky. Not to say lethal. Our kin fled earth centuries ago, when the vampire's had practically eradicated us, and since then, we've lived safely here." Yes, Sookie very much would've liked to know where this _here _was, but she kept quiet. "But you, and all half bloods on earth, are risking this by letting vampires feed of your blood. If a vampire feeds regularly on fay blood, there is a possibility of this vampire -accidently or on purpose- entering our world. We have not yet figured out how this connection works, all we know is that it does. And that it is a danger to the whole fairy kin. Naturally, all these threats must be eliminated to maintain our safe existence." Sookie was starting to feel unease about the situation. She remembered when Bill told her that he'd somehow come to the fairy world during his daytime rest, and she guessed this was what Niall was talking about.

Niall took a moment before continuing,"Luckily, there are very few half bloods on earth, and even fewer that have been mixing with vampires on a regular basis. Almost all part-fairies that let vampires feed of them are killed immediately, since the vampires very rarely are able to stop, making this blood connection too weak for traveling through. At the moment, there are only two vampires on earth who's had enough fairy blood to be able to enter our world." Niall made a pause, and Sookie felt a cold lump in her stomach. She didn't like where this was going. "Bill Compton and Eric Northman."

"What are you saying here?" Sookie hated her voice for trembling, but she couldn't help it as a horrible realization was forming in her mind.

"We do not consider Bill Compton a threat," Niall said, seemingly ignoring her question. "He is but two hundred years old, and it has been proved that our powers are strong enough to handle him. However, I'm not so sure about a thousand years old vampire. To guarantee the safety of our people, Eric cannot be allowed to live."

"What?" Sookie breathed out, feeling how she lost all words. "But- wha- I-"

"The fact that Russell Edgington at the moment would do anything to get his hands on the Viking came as a most lucky coincident," Niall cut her off and made a cruel, half smile. "And now when you are here, and out of danger, Claudine can step in and give Edgington a helping hand."

The sound of the heavy door being opened echoed through the hall, and her fairy godmother entered, gaze fastened on the floor as in shame.

"Ah, Claudine," Niall hummed, "Still in one piece I can see. Did things run smoothly?"

"Yes," Claudine mumbled, still not looking at Sookie. "I waited at the apartment until Russell arived, and managed to get the message through _before_ he decided to kill me," she made a bitter chuckle, before continuing, "I led him to the house and-"

"What house?"Sookie shot up from her seat and gave Claudine a look that could've turned the pretty fairy to dust. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Be quiet Sookie," Niall hissed, "So," he turned back to Claudine, urging her to continue.

"There was a short fight, but Russell was just playing with him. In the end, Eric was no match for him." Something inside Sookie's head just… shut down at those words. She swallowed several times, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat.

"What do you mean?" she whispered and looked between Claudine and Niall, disbelieve and tears burning in her eyes. "Eric…"

"I'm sorry," Claudine mumbled and bit her lip. "He- he is gone."

"No," Sookie shook her head and backed away from the fairies, "No, no he can't be. Claudine, tell me that you are making this up! Tell me that he's okay!" But the fairy just looked away.

"It would happen sooner or later," Niall said harshly "For how long did you think he would be able to hide from Russell? All we did was making this less painful for you."

"How is this less painful for me?" Sookie was still shaking her head, not able to understand this. It was too hard. To ridiculously impossible. Eric couldn't be gone. Eric couldn't be... dead.

"Now you have no reason to go back to your world," the silver haired fairy said, "You can stay here with your own kin, where you are safe. As a fairy, you will eventually stop aging. Why would you waste your immortal life on a heartless vampire?" _Immortal? _The fact that Niall just thrown those pretty gigantic news at her in a by the way kind of way was not even bothering Sookie at the moment. That piece of information was just too much for her to take in right now. _He is gone_. No. Sookie's brain shut down completely and she went into denial. It couldn't be true. It couldn't.

"Sookie, I'm so sorry" Claudine said and laid a soft hand was laid on her shoulder. Sookie tore herself away from the touch, and with all her might, she struck the fairy over the face.

"You are lying!" She screamed, tears pouring from her eyes,"Eric is not dead. He can't be!"

"It was for the best! Your fairy blood is far too valuable to be wasted at a monster. We need to secure the continuation of our blood line!" Niall roared and grabbed her arms. Sookie broke free, and with a furious cry, she let all her anger and despair shot down through her arms, evolving in a blinding light that hit the elder fairy in the chest. Niall flew backwards, hitting one of the columns, and the second his body crashed into the stone, it dissolved in dust. Sookie swirled around, hands outstretched and fire in her eyes,

"Take me back," she ordered the shocked Claudine, who was clutching her bleeding nose.

"But-"

"No fucking buts," Sookie hissed and let a faint glow radiate from her palms, threatening to release the light at the fairy, who seemingly was to shocked to be able to use her own powers. "You are taking me back to Alma's house right now! Or you'll end up just like Niall." Her voice was starting to break and turn into choked sobs, but she held it together. She wouldn't believe anything the fairies had said until she could see for herself. And she would go back and be met by Eric. He would take her in his arms and kiss her, everything would be okay. Eric would be okay. He had to be.

Claudine, trembling in fear, took Sookie's hand, and the light once again engulfed them. The both women disappeared from the scene with a pop.


	27. Chapter 27

_"No fucking buts," Sookie hissed and let a faint glow radiate from her palms, threatening to release the light at the fairy, who seemingly was to shocked to be able to use her own powers. "You are taking me back to Alma's house right now! Or you'll end up just like Niall." Her voice was starting to break and turn into choked sobs, but she held it together. She wouldn't believe anything the fairies had said until she could see for herself. And she would go back and be met by Eric. He would take her in his arms and kiss her, everything would be okay. Eric would be okay. He had to be._

_Claudine, trembling in fear, took Sookie's hand, and the light once again engulfed them. The both women disappeared from the scene with a pop._

The sensation of falling once again filled her, and moments later, she was on her feet again. Everything was a dark blur around her, and she blinked, thinking that there was something wrong with her eyes. Panic filled her as she realized that she was her vision was normal, it was everything around her that really was dark. It was freezing, and she was standing up to her knees in snow. An ice cold wind was roaring in her ears, and icy flakes of snow whirled around her. _Snow. What the hell?_ Sookie turned to Claudine.

"I told you to take me back to Alma's house!" she called through the roaring wind, barely hearing her own voice, "Do you have a death wish or something?"

"W-we are t-there," Claudine stuttered as she trembled in cold. "Look." She pointed over Sookie's shoulder, and she turned around. There, barely visible through the snow and darkness, she could see Alma's white house.

"What is going on? Why is it snowing?" Sookie turned back to face Claudine, but the fairy was gone. _Fucking coward. _She should've just killed her as soon as they got back. Oh God, she couldn't think like that. Sookie forced the vengeful thoughts away. Claudine wasn't important, she needed to get inside and find out why she suddenly had come to the ice age. She hugged herself and started to make her way towards the faint lights in the distance. Her legs felt heavy and it was almost impossible to walk in the deep snow, the fact that she was wearing nothing but a dress not helping against the cold. The biting wind was quickly becoming unbearable, but she forced herself to continue. It wasn't far. Finally, she reached the porch, and without bothering knocking, she stumbled inside.

"Hallå? Vem är det?" **Hello? Who is it?** A voice called and steps approached, as someone came running through the house. Soon, Sookie could see a familiar face at the top of the stair. Vilda was standing there, wearing her usual layers of black skirts and a blouse. The redheaded elf's eyes widened in shock, and for a moment, she just stood there, staring at the blonde standing in the hall.

"Sookie," she breathed out, and the next second, she flung herself down the rest of the stair and threw her arms around the confused, distressed and utterly cold Sookie. "I thought I'd never see you again! Oh my God we've been so worried! Where have you been? Why did you just disappear like that?-" Vilda rambled. Sookie was on the verge on having a breakdown, all the unanswered questions swirling in her mind. Eric. Why wasn't Eric there? Vilda just kept talking, and Sookie snapped.

"Stop it!" she exclaimed and grabbed the redhead by her shoulders, "I'm the one who needs answers here!" Vilda immediately grew quiet, remembering herself.

"Of course," she said apologetically, "Let's get you into some dry clothes and we'll talk."

"No!" Sookie shook her head violently, "No I need to know that Eric is okay. Where is he?" A dark shadow of sadness settled over Vilda's features, and Sookie felt it as if someone stabbed her in the gut with a piece of ice. _No. _

"Where is Eric?" She repeated, feeling how her voice broke. As Vilda didn't answered, but laid a hand on Sookie's shoulder in a comforting gesture, tears started to form in her eyes and she virtually screamed, "Where is he? Wh-"

"Shh, please listen," Vilda said softly, "The night you disappeared-"

"What do you mean `the night I disappeared?" Sookie cried desperately, tears now falling freely down her cheeks "I haven't been gone for more than half an hour!" _Then how do you explain the snow? _A confused frown replaced Vilda's sad one, but only for a moment.

"Sookie," she then said in a tone that could've been used when talking to a traumatized child, "You've been gone for almost six months."

"No," Sookie whispered and once again shook her head in denial.

"And the night you disappeared," Vilda continued, deciding that she better tell the whole truth, "Russell showed up. I don't know how he found out where Eric was, but he was suddenly just outside. Eric at once thought he had something to do with your disappearance, and attacked him. And then, everything just went so fast. Russell toyed with him for awhile, but then, they were both just… gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Sookie asked numbly, a blank mask on her face, the tears seeping down her cheeks the only evidence of the emotional turmoil she was in. The words Vilda was saying hadn't sunken in yet, which was lucky, because when they did, then that would be it for Sookie.

"Russell-" Vilda's voice cracked and a tear spilled from one of her green eyes. She bit her lip and forced herself to finish the sentence. "Russell took him." Everything crashed down on Sookie. The fairies had stolen six months of her life. Claudine had betrayed her, and because of that Eric, her Eric, was in the hands of and insane, vindictive Russell. But it had been six months. _Could Eric have survived six months with Russell?_ The answer to that was no. _No no no. _

"Sookie," Vilda pleaded from somewhere distant, "Sookie please try to calm down." _What did she mean by that? _It was only now Sookie realized that she was crying. Violent, heart wrenching sobs that racked her body and had made her sink to her knees. Something paper thin that had kept her emotions somewhat in check had burst, and she just cried, sobbed uncontrollably. Vilda did her best to calm her down, but the attempts were useless, Sookie couldn't _calm down_. What reason did she have to ever stop crying? Eric was gone, and nothing mattered anymore.

* * *

Vilda sighed to herself as she went to get a couple of blankets from the couch. Sookie had cried hysterically for almost an hour, until she finally had no tears left. She'd refused to leave her position on the floor, unable to move, and once she'd run out of tears, the poor girl had simply fallen asleep on the spot. Vilda still had no idea where she'd been for almost six months, now had not been the time for questioning. Since Sookie was physically okay, she'd decided not to wake her up. No, what that girl needed was to sleep, even if it was on the floor. To first be taken away (by who?), come back and discover that not only had you lost six months of your life, but the man that you loved (Yes, Vilda was pretty sure Sookie did love Eric) was gone… well that was enough to make anyone break.A hard grip was taken on her heart as she thought of her lost friend, but she tried to once again tell herself that Eric was still alive. _But wasn't it a worse fait to be in the hands of Russell Edgington, than being dead? _The thought scared her, and she quickly pushed it away. She needed to stay strong. That was what she promised her mother when she left, just a few days after Eric had been taken.

Alma had traveled north, to the untamed wilderness of the mountains and the dark rivers, hoping that the ancient wisdoms in the woods there could help her in her task (whatever it was). Normally, her mother had said, she would've needed a long time to prepare herself for what she was planning to do, but they didn't have that time now. She'd left the next day. Vilda didn't question her mother's decision, knowing that it would lead nowhere, and agreed to stay behind. When she'd worried about Sookie, and her whereabouts, Alma had told her that the girl was beyond their reach, and would return when she was able to. _She must've known where Sookie was. _Vilda didn't bother thinking about why her mother hadn't told her where her newly found friend was. If Alma thought it was best for things to stay untold, she trusted her. Though now, half a year later, she was for the first time in her fairly long life, starting to wonder. Where was her mother? Had something gone wrong? The nature was untamable, powerful, divine, and had to be treated with respect. Messing with it could have fatal consequences. And she was quite sure that that was what Alma was doing, messing with nature.

Vilda crouched down by Sookie's still form, and laid the blankets over her. She folded one together and tucked it in under the blond head, trying to make her a tleast a bit more comfortable, before standing up again. It would've felt better to move her, but even if Vilda was quite strong for her size, (5´5 barefoot) it was impossible for her to carry Sookie without waking her up, and so, she had no choice but to let her be.

Going back to the living room, Vilda gazed out through the large windows, unconsciously hugging herself, as if the freezing temperature outside could reach her. It was still snowing, the white blanket that covered everything was steadily growing thicker, and the wind shaped it to small hills and waves. A white sea, with a black sky. It was only five in the afternoon, but the sun had set almost an hour ago, leaving the white world dark and inhospitable. She loved the winter, she truly did, but the darkness could be hard to deal with. At times, she could love it, the mysterious veil of black, but as the winter days went by, it became unnerving, since she knew she would have to live with it for so many months. The darkness never bothered her mother though. _Darkness is only lack of light. _Well that was true of course, add light and the darkness disappeared, but no light could ever replace the rays of the sun, and she missed it during the winter. Six hours a day, the sun would be up, if it was at its best. Six hours was not enough. But at least the stars were to some kind of comfort. In the winter, they always shone brighter, and the moon gladly took the sun's place as ruler over the sky. Their light was different, colder, but you accepted what you could get, and she reminded herself to be grateful for the gift.

There was a sharp knock on the door, and Vilda jumped in surprise. She furrowed her brow, wondering who would bother to travel so far into the forest in this weather to visit, but she went to open. Sookie was still out cold on the floor, and so she only opened the door a tiny bit to prevent the ice cold wind reaching her.

Alma was standing outside, looking weary and tired, but with a warm smile on her lips.

"Mamma!" **Mom!** Vilda exclaimed and threw her arms around the elder woman, who hugged her back before stepping inside. Vilda was about to shot a million questions at her mother, but was stopped as Alma put a hand up, gesturing for her to be silent for now.

"Would you please come in?" Alma turned around and spoke to someone standing behind her, still on the porch. The someone's face was in shadows, and Vilda couldn't see who it was, but as the person stepped inside, she immediately recognized the seemingly young man. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared wide eyed at the ancient vampire now standing in the hall. It was impossible… completely impossible. But here he was, looking just like he had all those years ago. Her voice was a mare whisperer as she took in the vampire before her.

"Godric."

**I know it was a cruel thing to do, the time jump, and I can't say I'll be nicer in the next few chapters. We're getting into angsty waters here.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Warning; dark chapter. Contains violence and rape (nothing to explicit, but it's there) OOC on Eric's part, (it's been six months, things aren't completely right with him)**

A blond man lay curled up in the corner of the dark cellar, staring with pained, unseeing eyes out in the distance. Silent red tears seeped slowly down the hollowed cheeks, dripping down onto the ice covered floor. The blood covering his naked body was starting to freeze, as the old root cellar didn't provide with much protection against the winter cold, and glimmering ice crystals hung from the blond hair. All over the emaciated body, traces from months of cruel torture showed. Large chunks of flesh were missing from both arms and legs, and in several places, fractured bones protruded. A low sizzling was heard as the silver chains wrapped around the fragile wrists burned their way in to the bone.

He took a raged breath, willing his body to stop trembling, as every single movement increased the already excruciating pain to beyond what his sanity -what was left of it at least- could handle. The air coming out from between his blue colored lips turned into a white fog as it made contact with the cold air around him. _So cold_. He closed his eyes, trying to force himself to sleep in an attempt to escape from his wrecked existence, if only for a moment. But no merciful darkness came, and a weak sob escaped him. It made his broken ribs ache, but he couldn't help it. Another chocked sob came, followed by a whole string of the broken sounds. It echoed frightening in the silent room.

* * *

"_But Eric," Russell cooed softly, "It's only fair that now when you've taken Talbot away from me, you have to take his place in certain things." _

"_Please," Eric whimpered, "Please, I don't want this." He was begging now, because that was all he had. There was nothing, absolutely nothing else left. All he knew was that this would be what finally took the last of his sanity. Russell just laughed, like he always did when he got the pleasure of hearing just how broken the younger vampire was._

"_Have you not learned that what you want, is completely irrelevant?" The sound of a belt buckle rattling filled his ears, and Eric tried to scoot further up in the corner. Russell simply grabbed his arms and tore him away from his nest. He laid him on his back and took hold of his hips. _

"_It's your own fault really," the older vampire hissed and grinned cruelly. Eric wrenched and squirmed desperately to get away, but Russell was having none of it. With a swift motion, he spread Eric's legs apart, positioning himself between the thighs. "I'll teach you to take responsibility for your actions."  
_

"_No, no please-"Eric was sobbing now, panic and fear coursing through him as he felt Russell's erection press against him. "Please-" and then he was being torn apart, and he cried out. Russell made a hoarse chuckle, before thrusting in again. And again.  
_

* * *

All Eric wanted was to sleep, and maybe find solace in the dream world. He could dream of Sookie, her warm skin against his. Her bright smile. Her soft lips. Or Godric, his strong arms and gentle voice Or Pam, his beloved child. Eric tried to reach out for them, tried to just find one comforting word, or soothing touch that could help him, but they were always beyond his reach. Pretty soon, the dreams had turned into nightmares, skewed films of the reality, memories of the endless torment, and when he could no longer tell the difference, he'd given up completely.

* * *

_Russell watched with delight as the knife sank deep into the flesh of the vampire on the floor. He carved a long gash over the thigh, tracing the muscles. Eric let out a scream that would've have torn at most peopled hearts, but simply filled Russell with sadistic glee. He let the knife continue its way back up, wrenching another scream from the blonde._

"_Remember that you've got no one to blame but yourself," he chuckled. When he reached the end of the muscle, he slowly pulled the knife out, thoroughly making sure to tear up the flesh along with it. Eric screamed again, and Russell watched how the last shreds of life force and sanity fled from his blue eyes, leaving only a hopeless, broken emptiness.  
_

* * *

(_It's your own fault really) _Yes, yes of course it was his fault. It was all his fault. Russell was right. Eric had done something wrong (_what had he done again?_), and when you did something wrong, you had to be punished. (_You've taken Talbot away from me_) Yes, and that was wrong. Eric knew that. He deserved this. Russell was merciful. He'd left him alone for several hours now, even though Eric had done nothing to deserve such kindness. After all, it was his own fault (_you've got no one to blame but yourself_) . If only the pain would go away… No, pain was good. Pain meant that he was still alive. _Did he really want to be alive?_ No, no he didn't. Truth was, that if death came, Eric would happily embrace it.

His eyelids began to feel heavy, (_was he falling asleep or just fainting again?_) and he drifted off, finding comfort in the thought that this time, maybe, he wouldn't wake up again.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 28

Sookie awoke to a complete darkness. The room she was in was dark, and outside the window, only the faint light from the stars lit up the sky. But mostly, the darkness was inside of her. Because the minute she woke up, and discovered that she was all alone in the bed (_strange, she didn't remember falling asleep in a bed_) she remembered yesterday's events. 

_Eric was gone. _

She slumped back against the pillows, furiously trying to keep herself from starting to weep again. The panic she'd felt was gone, now she just felt utterly defeated. Everything seemed so hopeless. She had no idea what to do now, and the idea of spending the rest of her life in this bed was the only thing that came to her mind. She'd almost convinced herself to just go back to sleep again, but then, she heard muffled voices. It was Vilda, Alma, and… someone else. A male voice. After trying to hear the subject of the conversation, she realized that they were speaking Swedish. The male voice was oddly…. familiar. But she couldn't place it. She scooted out of the bed and walked out in the hallway. She could hear the conversation clearly now, and yes, she definitely knew that voice. But it was to ridiculously impossible… Jogging down the stairs, Sookie tried to wrap her head around this. _Who else could it be?_ She followed the voices into the kitchen, and stopped on the threshold, staring in disbelieve at the person sitting at the kitchen table.

"Godric," she breathed out. _I must've lost it completely… _The dark haired vampire's serious expression was broken for a moment as he turned to her and gave her a faint smile.

"Hello Sookie," he said calmly and stood up to greet her. She stared for another moment, then, she rushed forward and threw her arms around his neck. Godric was here. It just had to be a miracle, a sign of that things were going to be okay. Surely he would know what to do. Godric froze briefly at her embrace, not used to such affection, before hesitantly bringing his arms around her, hugging her back.

"How- how-" Sookie just shook her head as she pulled out from the hug, eyes still wide. "How is this possible?"

"Don't bother asking," Vilda said from the kitchen table, "I've tried for like two hours without getting an answer." Sookie eyed her questioning.

"How it's possible for me to once again walk the Earth is not what's important at the moment," Godric said, gaining her attention again before sitting down at the table, gesturing for her to do the same. Sookie grabbed a chair and sat down between Godric and Alma. She turned to look at Godric, wondering where to begin in all this. How much had Alma and Vilda told him? Did he now about Eric? _Of course he does idiot. Why else would he be here?_

"You need to tell me exactly what happened while you were in the fairy realm," Godric continued. Okay, no time for small talk. Sookie didn't even bother to ask how Godric knew where she'd been. It wasn't important. She started telling him about Claudine, and the whole kidnapping. When she came to the part of her relatives being responsible for Eric being taken, guilt flooded her and she looked at Godric, searching for any signs of him blaming her, but the old vampire's face was blank.

"These powers of yours," Alma said when Sookie had finished her story, "Do you know how to control them?"

"Not really," she sighed in frustration, "It's just when I become like really… angry. It kind of `bubbles over´ or something."

"How about the dreams?" Godric asked.

"I can't do anything about them either," Sookie said irritable. She didn't understand why they kept asking these questions. To what importance were her damn fairy powers? Her fairy heritage had only ever caused her trouble.

"Do you think you could learn how to control them?" Godric proceeded, still with a stoic face. Sookie was starting to feel very frustrated. What was with the hearing?

"No- what? How am I suppose to control dreams?" she snapped at his question. "And why is this important anyway?"

"I think there might be a possibility for you to control what you dream about," Vilda pondered and turned to Alma, "Do we still have the dried marigold?"

"Enough for one cup."

"It's worth a shot," the redheaded elf said and turned back to Godric, who gave her an approving nod, seemingly knowing exactly what they were discussing. Sookie was in quite the opposite situation, feeling completely clueless.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on!" she exclaimed as no one gave her any further explanations.

"Marigold is frequently used in herbal medicine to induce sleep and make dreams more clear. If I combine it with a few more herbs, I should be able to make quite a powerful potion, which could help you control the visions. If you think hard enough of what you want to see, and hold that into your sleep, technically, you would dream about it."

"So, I could -technically- think about Eric, and where he is… and fall asleep fast enough to dream about it?" Sookie felt a small hope rise in her chest.

"Technically, yes," Vilda said. "But it's a long shot.

"Well it's our best chance right?" Sookie looked from Vilda, to Alma who wore thoughtful face, to Godric, who still hadn't changed his calm expression. Even though she eyed him questioning, he didn't meet her eyes. He just made an absentminded nod.

"We'll try as soon as I've prepared the herbs then," Vilda said and rose from her chair, before turning to pick out knifes, bowls and different bundles of dried flowers. Alma followed the example and started to help her daughter. Godric rose as well, and without a word, he left the room. No one else reacted on the vampire's sudden departure, but Sookie furrowed her brow and followed.

She walked out in the hallway to see the front door swing into closed position, and hesitated. Maybe Godric needed some time alone. Just because he was stoic on the outside, didn't mean he wasn't feeling just as distraught as her. After hesitating another moment, she decided that no he shouldn't be alone right now. She stepped into a large pair of boots, and grabbed a wool coat from a hanger, hoping that the owner wouldn't mind if she just borrowed the items for a short while, and opened the door.

The cold hit her like a wall, and she wrapped the big coat closer around her body before stepping outside. Now, when it wasn't snowing, and she wasn't confused and newly transported from the fay world, she could see the beauty of the white scenery. The stars and the moon lit up the snow covered landscape, making it glimmer in an almost magical way. Though what struck her the most was the silence. Not a sound was heard, it was as if the world had been put on mute. No birds, no crickets, no traffic… She looked around, and saw Godric. He was standing on the far edge of the porch, his back against her.

Sookie walked up to him, the snow creaking under the boots. She came to stand beside him, still quiet, and glanced carefully at him. Godric's dark eyes were turned upwards, to the sky, and he didn't acknowledge her presence. Sookie wondered if he was cold. He only wore linen shirt and pants. Though he didn't look cold. He didn't look sad either. Just… impassive. She followed his gaze, and started to study the night sky, and its millions of stars. It was the same sky as the one over her home in Louisiana. It was darker, colder, but it was still the same. That thought made her think of the life that stood on hold back in Bond Temps for her. Six months she'd been gone. _Everyone must think I'm dead_. But strangely, that didn't bother her. Well in one way of course, it did. She didn't want her family and friends to worry about her, but compared to what she stood in position to lose (_already had lost?_) at the moment, that didn't seem important. Nothing seemed important compared to Eric. Not her home, not her life. Not her `valuable, fairy-immortality´. Was what Niall had said true? Was she going to live forever? It was… hard to grasp. She hadn't had any time to reflect on the fact that one day (_whenever that_ _day came_) she would just… stop aging. But what she felt when she now thought about it, was not sadness. No, for just a second, she actually felt her heart swell in happiness. Because spending forever with Eric, having lifetimes with the man she loved, sounded like a wonderful dream. Then of course, reality crashed down on her again, and she was once again pushed into the dark sea of helpless despair. For as much as she could imagine spending eternity with Eric, she couldn't bear the thought of spending even a human lifetime time without him. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she bit back a sob.

"Do you love him?" Godric suddenly asked, "Eric."

"Yes. Yes, I love him" Sookie said quietly, and made a faint smile, as it was impossible to say such a thing out loud without smiling. "And so do you, right?" Godric nodded, and finally turned to look at her. His dark eyes were filled with so much sadness, and Sookie had to swallow in an attempt to get rid of the lump in her throat.

"My child has always been my life," he whispered, "I never thought I'd walk the Earth again, but for Eric, I'd live on for another thousand years."

"Then why did you want to die?" she couldn't help asking.

"It was a foolish moment of weakness," Godric said and once again turned to look at the sky. "I admit that it was a mistake, but it was something I had to do."

"So when we find Eric," Sookie took a deep breath. She said when, even though it should've been an if, "Will you stay?"

"Yes," the ancient vampire nodded, "I found what I was looking for when I met the sun. I feel no desire to leave this world again."

"How was it?" Sookie asked carefully. She'd always relied on God, and believed that there was peace in the world beyond this one. And since Godric seemed so… reassured, as if he'd found that there actually was something to lean on in the afterlife, she had a strong feeling she was right.

"That, I cannot tell you," Godric said and gave her a half smile, "That is something you can only discover for yourself." Sookie accepted that answer, feeling that she didn't need any further reassurance.

Suddenly, Godric cringed and his face contorted briefly as if in pain. Something swept by in his eyes (_fear?_) before he straightened his features again.

"What happened?" Sookie asked with concern.

"It's Eric," Godric said, and took a deep breath, "He's in pain."

"You feel it through the bond?" Sookie figured that the small amount of blood she'd had from Eric wasn't enough to create such a strong bond, and that she was therefore spared from any feelings of pain.

"Yes," Godric nodded, "It's fading, but it's still there. I can only feel a sliver of the pain he feels, and only for short moments."

"What about Pam? Is she able to feel anything?"

"Probably. But only a small amount, for a second or so."

"Can't the bond be used to finding Eric then? Maybe he's being trying to call on Pam or something?"

"You have to understand, Sookie, that she is on the other side of the world," Godric sighed, "Even if Eric has been capable of calling on Pam, there is a great risk of her mistaking it for pain, or something else."

"Is he…" Sookie tried to swallow the persistent lump in her throat, without succeeding. "Is he in a lot of pain?" Godric just made a nod.

"I shouldn't have left him," he said after a moment of silence, . "I swore to always protect him, promised that I would never let anyone hurt him. And still I abandoned him, even as he was begging me not to."

"We'll find him," Sookie said, forcing herself to sound reassuring and believe in her own words. "We'll find him and everything will be okay."

Godric looked at her then, and gave her one of his strangely calming smiles. "You never cease to amaze me Sookie Stackhouse."

She wasn't sure how to respond, and so, she just made a faint smile.

The sound of the front door being opened was heard, and Vilda peered out.

"It's done," she said, "Are you ready to give it a try?" Sookie nodded, and she and Godric followed the elf back inside.

"You should probably sit in the couch," Vilda nodded towards the living room. "More comfortable. I'll be there in a minute,"

Sookie slumped down on the couch, and started to nervously tear at her nails, a thing she always did when she felt stressed or anxious.

"Here you go," Vilda said as she entered the living room, holding a small cup. Sookie accepted it quietly and stared down at the brown content. It didn't look very tasty.

"So I'll just… drink it?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes. But first, you need to really, really think about what you want to see in the dream. We only have one shot at this."

"But no pressure or anything," Sookie mumbled and gulped nervously. What if it didn't work? Godric sensed her anxiety, and gave her an encouraging smile. She tried to smile back, but failed.

"Okay," she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Here we go." She emptied her mind completely, shut everything out. Then, she concentrated. Eric. She would find out where he was. Her dreams would show her…. When she was completely filled with the thought, she emptied the cup in one swig. She didn't even have time to think about the odd taste, as a heavy drowsiness engulfed her. With a yawn, she fell back against the cushions, and into sleep.

* * *

_She was soaring, floating high up in the air. The snow was whirling around her in a wild dance, the wind was screaming in her ears. Everything was a white blur, but despite the snow and the wind, she wasn't cold. _

_Snow covered mountains. A lake, frozen and inhospitable. A word Viris… Virisen… A name? And then, a cottage, barely visible under the snow. A dark room with stone walls and floor (a cellar?) _

_Broken, heart wrenching sobs that echoed in the silence. She wanted to find the person crying, feeling a desperate need to comfort, but soon, the room faded. And suddenly, there was only darkness._

* * *

When Sookie opened her eyes, she was back in Alma's living room. She looked around. Vilda was sitting slumped in one of the arm chairs, seemingly asleep, and Godric stood by the window, quietly studying the –still- dark garden.

"Sookie, you are awake." Alma had come to stand in the doorway, and at the sound of her voice, Vilda jolted awake, and Godric turned around. "Did it work?"

All eyes were turned to Sookie, who cleared her throat before answering, "I think so… but it was strange…"

"What did you see?" Godric asked.

"Snow. And then mountains…. And a lake. Then, there was a word. Viri… virisa…"

"Virisen?" Vilda suggested, gaining everyone's attention.

"Yes," Sookie knitted her eyebrows together, "I think so. How did you know?"

"I have a weird interest in Geography," Vilda waved it off, "Virisen is a lake in northern Sweden, in the mountains. I just put two and two together. But did you see anything else?"

"A cottage, and then some sort of cellar."

"Did you see Eric?" Godric wondered, and Sookie saw how something hopeful lit up the dark eyes.

"No," _No, but I could hear him, _she shook her head and looked down in her lap, focusing on her hands, "But I know he was there, I'm sure of it. I could feel it. I know it's not much but-"

"It's enough," Godric said and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at him, and this time, she actually managed a weak smile. Finally, something was going their way.

**Just a note, Slash is great, but in this story, Godric and Eric will only have a maker/child relationship. They do love each other, like father and son, or brothers, but I will keep this an Eric/Sookie story.  
**

**See you next time. And, to all of you who are in reach of the hurricane in the U.S, stay safe. I hope you're all okay. **


	30. Chapter 30

My head is empty. I'll just give you the usual thank you for the reviews (without them, I never would've gotten this far), and let you get on with the reading

Chapter 30

The world outside the window was a white blur of snow and ice, and the darkness of the night was compact as no stars could shine through the thick clouds. Sookie took a shaky breath, holding her fingers in a convulsive grip around the rifle loaded with wooden bullets with a silver core. Her fairy powers sure were useful when they chose to work, but there were no time or room for practice or mistakes in this, and the rifle therefore seemed more trustable. Not that it would help too much against Russell, but it felt safer.

She glanced at her watch, and couldn't help sighing. They had arrived at Alma's old ski hut hours ago, and were now just waiting for Godric, who still was sleeping in the back of the car.

The house was located at the foot of some mountain whose name she couldn't remember, and it was still hours away from their presumed goal. But there were no roads leading up to Virisen, and it seemed wise to have a safe location to come back to once they'd gotten Eric down from there. She was thinking _once_, because in her mind that was the only possibility.

The hut was quite big for being a hut, with three bedrooms, something that could be called a living room, and a primitive kitchen. The furniture was simple, with only the most necessary pieces, beds and so on, and all of it was in very old fashioned style. There were no modern facilities, such as plumbery, or even electricity, but then again, according to Alma, it hadn't been used for years. Sookie had thought it was a very lucky coincident that the elf owned a house up here, but Alma had just shrugged and told her that she had small houses scattered all over the country, just in case she would like to take a spontaneous vacation. Sookie herself couldn't even imagine spending more time than necessary in this house. The wind roaring outside seemed strong enough to take the building and tear it to pieces, the wooden walls creaking as if they were about to cave. Luckily, there was a large fireplace in the main room, and the fire now crackling in it spread a comfortable warmth through the house, making it less eerie. Alma was busy lighting candles and small lanterns, further urging the darkness away, and Vilda was in the kitchen, arranging the food they'd brought on the shelves.

There was a knock on the door, and Sookie turned her gaze from the window. Alma put the matches and candles down and went to open. The ice cold wind instantly found its way into the house, and Sookie shuddered where she sat. Alma said something in Swedish, and Godric stepped inside. Sookie instantly shot up from her chair.

"We're leaving now?" she said, feeling how adrenaline started pumping.

"Yes," Godric nodded, "Are you ready?"

"I'll just get dressed." Sookie went over to the pile of clothes Vilda'd helped her pick out hours ago. After a layer of pants, sweaters, gloves and socks, she finished of the outfit with the overly large coat and a pair of boots. It wasn't a very fashionable choice, but in this temprature, it was necessary. Besides, who gave a fuck about what she looked like right now? She picked up the rifle, securing the leather strap around her shoulder and waist, before turning back to Godric.

"I'm ready," she said, assuring herself of that she was. "Let's go."

"Are you sure I shouldn't come with you?" Vilda asked as she went to stand by the door, looking concerned from Sookie to Godric. "I know I can't be to much help, but at least I'm an extra set of hands."

"Vilda, we went over this," Godric said, "I can't fly you, Sookie and Eric down. Not in this weather. And you can't possibly walk."

"Yeah I know," Vilda sighed, "It's just that doing nothing makes me all nervous." Sookie understood that feeling. She'd had it all day, and was unimaginable relieved that Godric let her come with him. It should be the opposite way. She should be nervous, terrified, of going up against a three thousand year old vampire who could snap her like a twig, but she wasn't. At least not now. The fear was overshadowed by a determination, a will to help her beloved, and to crush the vampire who'd caused him pain. She thought that determination was the reason Godric trusted her to be able to help.

"I guess all I can do is to wish you good luck then," Vilda said and gave both Sookie and Godric a hug before they stepped out in the dark night.

"Be safe," Alma said and smiled soothing.

"And tear Russell to shreds," Vilda added.

"Don't worry, I will," Godric said, and the fire burning in his eyes told Sookie that he indeed intended to do that. It was clear that the ancient vampire would do anything to save his child, even if it meant his own death. "Let us leave then," he said to Sookie, who stepped close and wrapped her arms around his neck. It felt strange being so close to Godric. She felt safe, but in an entirely different way than with Eric. This was simply a friendly embrace.

"Close your eyes, the snow and the wind will hurt them," Godric said. Sookie did as she was told, and the next second, they were off the ground.

* * *

She wasn't sure for how long they had been flying, but it must've been for quite some time. The wind was tearing in her, trying to catch her, but Godric kept his arms firmly around her, not showing any signs of struggling with the weather. She couldn't even imagine the strength it must be taking him to keep the course in this wind, but it didn't seem to be a problem. For a moment, she considered opening her eyes, but as she felt the stinging of the snow whipping against her face, she decided that she better keep them closed. She buried her face in the scarf again, as it started to hurt from the cold. _God, why did it have to be so damn cold?_

Suddenly, the wind seemed to lessen, and before she knew it, she was up to her knees in snow again. She looked around and blinked, trying to make her eyes adjust to the darkness. They were standing by the frozen, white surface of a lake, and behind them, trees created an endless landscape of dark columns.

"You're okay?" Godric asked quietly, and she nodded. "So, does this feel familiar?" he wondered next.

"Yes, I recognize the lake," she whispered back. "But how are we going to find the house?"

"I think we already have," the dark haired vampire said and nodded towards the other side of the lake. "I could feel Eric more clearly through the bond as we came closer. I just had to make sure my feelings weren't misleading me." Sookie squinted, trying to see something besides darkness, but couldn't make anything out.

"I'll fly us over," Godric said and Sookie took back her hold around his neck, "But once we get there, remember not to utter a word. And whatever you do, try to think rationally and clear. There are no rooms for mistakes." Sookie nodded and tried to calm her wildly beating heart.

Godric once again took to the air, but this time, he kept close to the ground. Or the lake. Seconds later, he settled her on her feet, and now Sookie could see the house. And then, she could see several more dark buildings. There were three large houses, two of them looking like barns, and then several smaller ones, scattered over the large open area. _A farm_. It had been abandoned a very long time ago by the looks of it. All the buildings looked as if they were about to fall apart, the wooden walls had an unsightly grey color and many of the windows were empty, black holes, without a pane. The snow on the roofs seemed to be weighing them down, crushing them with its weight. It looked nothing like her dream. In her dream, there had been only one small house. Yet, she felt that this was the right place. She was sure of it.

She turned to Godric, who gave her an inquiring look, to which she responded with a nod, telling him that they'd found what they'd been looking for. The next second, he was gone, leaving only a cloud of snow.

For a second, panic shot through her. She was alone. And Russell could be lurking anywhere around this eerie place. _No_, no time for panic. Not now. Quietly, she took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. Next, she took in the area again, trying to find a goal. Her heart made a jump in her chest as she discovered a house that definitely was familiar to her._ It was the one from her dream_. She started to make her way towards it, struggling to walk in the deep snow. Every step was a small battle, and by the time she finally reached the building, her thighs were burning and her throat hurt from taking large gulps of the icy air. The door to the house was missing, and she carefully approached. She swung the rifle from its position on her back and held it up before her, ready for an attack. Holding her breath, she peered inside. There was nothing. Just snow.

Almost cursing out loud in frustration, she started to search for another place to look. That's when the small hill caught her eye. It was positioned just twenty feet away, and she suddenly felt that_ that's_ where she had to go. Her whole body was urging her towards it, and she followed as her feet started to move. When she came closer, she discovered a door, in the hill. _A root cellar. _Her heart was beating even faster now, threatening to jump out of her chest. She reached out, and grabbed the handle. The door was locked. She tried again. And again. She threw herself against the door, but it refused to budge. Once again, frustration and despair filled her, but just as before, she pushed those feelings back. Instead, she filled her mind with determination. She was going to get this door open, somehow. She pulled her gloves off and placed one hand on the surface of the door, the other one on the handle. _She was strong, powerful. She could do this_. The feelings coursed through her, and a light began to build up under her palms. With a hissing sound, the light was released from her hands, and the door blew in. She nearly lost her grip of the handle, but managed to keep it, preventing the door from crashing into a wall and cause further noise. Releasing the door and picking the rifle up again, she stepped inside.

A coppery stench overwhelmed her, and she couldn't see anything. The darkness was too compact, and as there were no movements, she decided to take the risk and use the flashlight she'd brought. A click later, the warm light beam lit up the cellar. Her heart continued its attempts to jump out of her chest, until the light reached the farthest corner, for then she could've sworn it stopped completely. She had to bite her lip to hold back the scream that threatened to escape her. _Oh God. _

The figure lying slumped on the ground had to be Eric, but he was barely recognizable. Large chunks of flesh were missing from all over the frightfully thin body, and there was blood covering almost every inch of skin. _So much blood_. It had frozen, and the small ice crystals glimmered in the faint light the flashlight provided. The sight was beyond her worst nightmares, and Sookie felt how hot tears began to fill her eyes. Her breathing came in small gasps as she tried to keep herself from crying. She felt nauseous, dizzy. _Why are you just standing there? Do something! _Snapping out of her shock, she rushed to the vampire's side. She threw the rifle to the side and fell to her knees by his crumpled form. Eric's was curled up on his side, facing the wall, and despite her fear of touching the fragile body, she reached out and carefully cradled his upper body in her arms. She winced slightly as her bare hands made contact with the ice cold skin, but kept her arms safely around him and settled his head on her lap. His eyes were closed, and the hollowed cheeks striped with blood. _Tears. _

"Eric," her voice came out as a broken sob as she gently cupped his face. "Baby, please wake up." There were no life signs what so ever from the vampire. She needed to feed him. _What could she use to cut up her wrist? … A knife. A stone…. Anything. _No such things could be found in the room, and Sookie felt her rational thinking coming to a quick end.

Suddenly, she felt the presence of a vampire mind. Immediately, she reached for the shotgun as her head snapped to the door, preparing herself to see Russell standing there. It wasn't Russell, but Godric, and the ability to breathe was returned to her. For a moment, Godric just stood there, staring in disbelieve, before moving in a blur to appear on his knees by her side. Without a word, he carefully took Eric from her and cradled the lifeless body in his arms, holding him in a tender embrace. He bit into his wrist and put it to the younger vampire's lips, gently coaxing his mouth open. Sookie held her breath, anxiously waiting for a reaction. Nothing. Not even a small stir in the broken body.

"Come back to me, my child," Godric leaned down and whispered softly. Still nothing. Sookie choked back a sob. _Oh God, Eric please wake up. Please, I can't live without you. Please..._ Eric didn't show even traces of life, and when Godric ripped his wrist open a second time, it only resulted in the blood pooling around his mouth.

"He's not responding," Godric mumbled and shook his head. His eyes spoke volumes of despair, even though he kept his voice calm. "We need to get him down from here. He needs warmth…"

"Here," Sookie whispered as she tore her gigantic coat of, "Take this." Godric swiftly wrapped the makeshift blanket around Eric's naked body, creating a protective nest.

Sookie struggled to her feet. "Let's get out of here."

"Not so fast," a drooling voice came from the entrance, causing Sookie to freeze in terror and Godric to let out a sharp hiss as his fangs extended. Russell Edgington was standing in the doorway, a wide, mad grin on his face. "If you leave now, you'll miss all the fun." He laughed, a terrifying sound that echoed between the stone walls.


	31. Chapter 31

_Chapter 31  
_

_Sookie struggled to her feet. "Let's get out of here."_

_"Not so fast," a drooling voice came from the entrance, causing Sookie to freeze in terror and Godric to let out a sharp hiss as his fangs extended. Russell Edgington was standing in the doorway, a wide, mad grin on his face. "If you leave now, you'll miss all the fun." He laughed, a terrifying sound that echoed between the stone walls_

Russell took a lingering step towards them, knowing that he had the upper hand, and thoroughly enjoying it.

"Well aren't you adorable together," he scoffed and smirked again.

Sookie slowly reached in behind her, searching for the shotgun. Her fingers traced the stone floor- _where the fuck was the rifle_…

"Now, how should I do this?" Russell pondered as he slowly approached. "Should I just kill you both? Or would you rather watch me I finish Eric off first?" A deep growl rumbled in Godric's throat and he gave Russell a look that could've sent the bravest of lions running the opposite direction.

"Oh didn't like that one did we?" the older vampire chuckled, and a malicious spark lit in the cold eyes, "Let's start with him then." He eyed Eric almost hungrily and took another step.

After that, everything happened at once. Sookie finally got her hands on the rifle, and just as the ear shattering sound of a shot being fired rang through the cellar, Godric disappeared from her side and lounged at Russell with a furious roar. Russell first cried out in pain as the bullet hit him in the shoulder, and then in shock as Godric sent him flying across the room, crashing into a wall. A split second later, he was back on his feet and shot towards the younger vampire.

Seeing the two ancient vampires fight was unlike everything Sookie had ever witnessed. Every movement was a blur, and the only time she could actually get a clear sight of them was when they had each other pinned in different positions. It was clear that Russell was still suffering from the bullet, but even then, Godric had to use all his strength to keep up with him. Each time they were still long enough for the human eye to catch, both of the vampires had new dreadful wounds, but Godric was getting the worst of it. Sookie's heart clenched as she realized that he wouldn't be able to fight for much longer, but there was nothing she could do. She tried to take aim at Russell, but they were moving too fast, and if she missed and hit Godric instead, that would definitely be it. She released the fight with her eyes long enough to glance at Eric, who Godric- even when in such a ferocious state- had settled carefully on the floor. He looked, if possible, worse than before. There was blood trickling from his nose, ears and mouth, and Sookie realized in horror that it was his body shutting down completely._ Eric was dying_. It could only be minutes, possibly seconds away. That realization triggered something in her. She could feel the familiar, blinding light beginning to build up. Her hands began to glow-

"Godric!" she bellowed and dropped the rifle, as her hands began to shake from the effort of not releasing the light. "Try to keep Russell still!"

"Seriously, do you think he's got any kind of controll here?" Russell laughed as he pinned Godric against the wall, keeping his neck in a crushing grip. Godric hissed and struggled wildly to get free, but it was useless. This moment of stillness was all Sookie needed, and with a furious cry, she released the light bolt. It hit Russell in the chest, and he flew backwards, howling like a wounded animal.

Sookie wasn't sure if I was her light, or Godric ripping his head clean off, but the next second, the ancient vampire was nothing more than a pile of bloody remains. When the echo of Russell's last scream had faded, all that was heard was Godric, panting heavily for breaths he no longer required. He stared despitefully at the steaming mass on the floor, before spitting a mouthful of blood at the remains.

"I hope you rot in hell."

"Godric!" Sookie cried desperately as she helplessly watched Eric wither away before her eyes. Godric was by her side in an instant.

"Why isn't your blood helping?" Sookie chocked out as she tried to keep it together.

"He cannot swallow it, he doesn't get down enough to heal," Godric whispered. At this point he was just as helpless as her and his dark eyes were brimmed with red as he once again took his child in his arms. Sookie scooted up close to the vampires, she too with tears streaming down her cheeks. She buried her face against Eric's chest, silently praying for some kind of miracle.

_"You can save him. Use your gift,"_ a voice swept through Sookie's mind. Claudine's voice. She looked up, confused, but saw no one in the dark cellar. _"Go on, it's your only chance."_ Claudine went on in Sookie's head. What the hell was going on? _"Trust me."_ And then, silence again. Sookie was left utterly confused. Why would Claudine want to help her now? And how could her light help Eric? All it ever had been able to do was hurting people. Then, a thought struck her. She thought her idea through for a moment, and decided to give it a try. They had nothing to lose. She closed her eyes, and forced away all the sadness and anger from her heart. Instead, she filled it with the love she had for Eric, and her will for them to have eternity together. She thought of everything they would get to share with each other. She pictured Eric smiling, life sparkling in the blue eyes.

A warm feeling spread from her core, all the way through her body. Her palms began to radiate a golden light, softer and yet brighter than it had even been before. Godric looked up, and a deeply suspicious frown settled on his face.

"What are you-"

"Trust me," Sookie breathed out, before putting her glowing hands to Eric' bleeding chest. The light instantly started to engulf the damaged body, increasing in strength now, and Eric stirred slightly. The movement was so small, it could've been just her imagination, but then, he moved again, letting out a weak moan. His eyes were still closed, but he frowned slightly in distress. Sookie tried to hold the light, but it proved too much, and it faded. But God was apparently listening to her prayers, because it seemed to have been enough. Godric had reacted instantly on the small signs of life from his child and was trying to feed him blood from his wrist. Eric nuzzled the wrist for a moment, struggling to latch on, but soon, he was gulping down the blood filling his mouth. Godric smiled in relieve, looking tenderly down on the younger vampire as he drank faster, life slowly returning to him. And Sookie, overwhelmed by relieve and happiness, began to cry.

* * *

Sookie wasn't sure how they got down from the mountain, but Godric somehow managed to fly both her and Eric down. She didn't remember much from the flight, only that she had alternated worrying for Eric, who still hadn't woken up completely, and worrying that Godric would drop her. Luckily, faith had decided that they'd been trough enough at the moment, and they'd gotten to the cottage safely.

As soon as they had stumbled through the door, and Sookie realized that they were finally safe, she felt how her consciousness began to slip. All sounds became muffled and distant, and her vision clouded. The last thing she saw was Godric carrying Eric to one of the bedrooms, and even as she felt her knees buckle and her eyes close, she smiled. Because Eric was safe, and that was all that mattered. Vilda caught her as she fell, and Sookie faintly heard her mumble something about how everything was going to be okay. Then, everything was dark.

**They are safe! And Russell is dead! YAY! But how come Claudine suddenly decided to stop being a backstabbing bitch and help?**

**Only one chapter left now, I can't believe it.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Sorry for the long wait, my last chapter- nerves set in, and I just couldn't seem to get it together, but finally, here it is. The last chapter. See you at the bottom.**

_Chapter 32_

Sookie woke up at the feeling of a soft hand caressing her forehead. She grumbled slightly and buried her face in the pillow, not wanting to wake up just yet.

"Sookie," a very familiar voice said, and she was suddenly completely awake. Her eyes popped open and as she emerged from her hiding place in the pillow, she was met by Claudine's beautiful face. The fairy was sitting on a chair next to her bed, and Sookie tried to bolt into upright position and either start screaming angrily at her for betraying her, or hugging her for saving Eric's life. Turned out, she could do neither of those things. Her body was too heavy to even move an inch, and her voice came out as a hoarse wheeze, and no real words.

"Before you start screaming at me, please just let me explain," Claudine said hurriedly before Sookie got her voice working. "I understand that you probably never want to see me again, nor forgive me, but that's not what I'm asking for. All I want is to explain." Claudine waited for her reaction. Sookie huffed, but didn't show her confused anger in any other way. One part of her wanted to just fry Claudine with her light for all the pain she'd caused, but she realized that her body wasn't in any shape for fae-power actions. Therefore, she gave Claudine a nod in acceptance. The fairy's relieve was palpable, and she took a deep breath, readying herself.

"First of all, I never wanted for Eric to get hurt. I knew how much pain it would cause you, and I would never wish you any harm. I tried to convince Claude that you were safe on earth, with Eric, but he refused to listen. As a fairy prince," Sookie cocked her eyebrow at this, "his power was far greater than mine, and I didn't have a choice but to obey him. And when I helped Russell find Eric, I truly thought he would just kill him. I never could've imagined he would-" Claudine's voice broke slightly, and she looked truly sad "I guess I was just trying to protect my conscience," she whispered and looked down at her hands.

"Russell tortured Eric for six months," Sookie hissed, finally gaining her ability to speak, "He starved him, beat him and God knows what else. And Eric might never be okay again," she felt a stab in her heart at her own words, wishing she hadn't uttered them. _Of course Eric would be okay_. He had to be.

"I know," Claudine mumbled sadly, "And believe me, if I could do it all over, I would have acted differently."

"Suddenly I feel so much better," Sookie snorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I understand that you cannot forgive me," the fairy said, meeting her eyes again. Sookie couldn't help but feeling how the ice around her heart melted slightly.

"How are people back at the fairy place taking Niall's death?" She wondered, slightly less spiteful now.

"Niall wasn't very popular," Claudine said, "His younger brother has taken over the ruling, and his methods of keeping our people safe is much less extreme. You can stay here on earth."

"So there were no problems then?" Sookie asked skeptically.

"No, I took care of it,"

"Oh. Well. Thanks. I guess."

"Don't thank me," Claudine shook her head, "It was the least I could do." She rose from the chair. "Even if you don't find it in your heart to forgive me, I will always be here when you need me. I'm just a thought away." And with a pop, the fairy was gone, leaving Sookie in a confused mix of feelings. She chose not to think more of her fairy godmother for now, nor the confused mix of feelings she brought up. Hesitantly, she sat up, feeling slightly stronger now. The door was opened, and Vilda peered in. At the sight of the telepath, she smiled.

"Hey there," she said, "I thought I heard voices."

"Yeah it was just my fairy godmother," Sookie sighed, not having the energy go make something up. Surprisingly, Vilda just nodded in understanding, not demanding any further explanations. She disappeared from the door for a second, returning with a tray with sandwiches and a gigantic glass of water.

"You should eat. And drink. A lot," she put the tray down on the small bedside table. "You've been out for three days."

"Three days," Sookie frowned. She'd been sleeping for three days. _Mental note: fairy powers, only for emergencies._ Then of course, she had been using them for an emergency. She suddenly felt cold. _Eric. _"I need to go see Eric," she mumbled, more to herself than to Vilda, and made an attempt to get out of the bed, only to be stopped by the elf.

"You are not going anywhere before you have eaten," she scolded gently.

"But-"

"If you don't eat, you'll just collapse," Vilda said, folding her arms together, clearly showing that that was the end of the discussion. Sookie sighed in defeat, and reached out to grab one of the sandwiches and the water glass. Reluctantly, she took a bite of the sandwich, followed by a gulp of water. This suddenly made her feel how hungry and thirsty she was, and barely a minute later, the plate and the glass was empty. Vilda, who'd supervised her silently, cocked an eyebrow.

"You know, I once heard of a thing called chewing," she smiled crookedly, "Apparently, it's a good thing to do before you swallow the food." Sookie just rolled her eyes, and swung her legs over the edge on the bed, ignoring that her head started spinning. She went for the door, but Vilda grabbed her gently by the arm.

"Sookie, you have to be very careful." Her tone instantly made Sookie's heart sink. "The latest days have been hard." Sookie didn't ask further questions, but nodded.

"Where is he?" she whispered, and Vilda pointed towards one of the closed doors. Sookie silently approached and after taking a deep breath, she knocked as softly as she could.

"Come in,"

Godric was sitting on the edge of the small bed, observing a sleeping Eric. He looked every bit of his two thousand years now, with dark circles around his eyes and his back hunched in defeat. It was almost as worrying as the sight of Eric, who looked only slightly better than when she'd last seen him.

"It's good to see you awake." Godric managed a faint smile.

Sookie swallowed the infernal lump in her throat before answering, "Thanks. It feels good." _I guess. _"How-" her voice broke, _oh God, pull yourself together, _"How's Eric?"

"I don't know," Godric said, turning back to look at his sleeping child. "He still hasn't woken up. I've managed to feed him, but he's only reacting instinctually. His body is trying to heal itself."

"Why isn't he waking up?" Sookie went to sit on the foot of the bed.

"I think it's his brain's way to protect itself from further damage."

"What can we do?"

"Watch over him. Make sure he feels safe when he does wake up."

* * *

Sookie leaned against the cool wall, staring up at the ceiling, on no particular spot. The floor was cold, but she didn't really mind sitting on it. She barely felt that her legs had fallen asleep long ago, and that her neck was aching, as she used all her energy to keep herself from having a nervous breakdown.

It had been four days, and Eric still didn't show any signs of improvement. She and Godric took turns watching him, and even though neither one of them wanted to leave his side even for a second, Vilda and Alma more or less forced them to rest from time to time.

"Sookie?" she bolted into upright position at the sound of that voice. Eric had turned his head to the side, and was looking at her with his blue, tired eyes. He looked so exhausted, so completely empty and broken, but Sookie's heart still skipped a beat in joy over seeing him awake. She scooted over to the bed, all while trying to figure out what to say. So many thoughts of what she wanted to tell him had gone by in her mind the latest days, and now, she couldn't seem to get any of them out.

"You're awake," was the only thing that came to her as she carefully reached out a trembling hand, longing to feel his hair under her fingers again. But Eric winced and scooted away from her in an obviously painful movement, pressing himself against the wall like a frightened animal. His eyes widened in fear and he took raged breaths, gasping as if he still needed air.

"Shh, I'm sorry honey," she mumbled, quickly drawing her hand back. "I'm not going to hurt you." She tried to keep her voice steady. _Whatever you do, do not start to cry. _Eric relaxed visibly, and his breathing calmed until it eventually ceased completely. His eyes drifted away from her and he seemed to be taking in his surroundings. Sookie didn't say anything, but let him take it in his own pace.

"Am I dead?" he eventually rasped out, a slightly confused look on his face.

"No, absolutely not" she couldn't shake her head fast enough, "Or well, you are as alive as any vampire can be." Eric still looked dazed.

"But… I don't understand. I must be dead. You were gone, and-"

"Claudine took me to Faerie," Sookie said before Eric made himself think about Russell. Those memories would return soon enough. "I managed to escape, but once I got back, even though I had only been there less than an hour, months had gone by here. I would've come to you sooner-" she cut herself off. This was probably to much information for the vampire to handle right now. Eric thought about what she'd said before shaking his head feebly.

"I don't understand," he repeated, "Where is Russell?"

"He is dead," Sookie promised. "You're safe now." At this, Eric shook his head again.

"No, he'll come back," he said in a strangely calm voice, "He can be gone for a very long time, like he's forgotten about me. But he always comes back." Sookie bit her lip, trying so hard to not cry. She had to be strong for them both right now. But she couldn't push away the anxiety gnawing in her chest. The mere thought of what Russell must've done to Eric to break him so completely was enough to make her eyes fill with tears.

"He is dead. I killed him, and he will never hurt you again,"

"You killed him?" finally, there was something new in Eric's eyes. The dimmed look lightened slightly, and it seemed like the words she was saying to him finally sunk in. "How?"

"Well I wasn't alone," Sookie smiled, "I had help."

"By who?"

Sookie thought for a moment. Would it be too much for Eric if she told him about Godric?

"I think it's best if you see for yourself," she said after awhile of silence, unfolding her legs to stand up.

"No, don't leave," Eric's voice had a desperate touch to it, and Sookie immediately slumped back down. "I don't want to be alone,"

Sookie nodded and had to restrain herself not to throw her arms around him. Hold him close and bury her face in his chest, feel that they were truly together again. Cry and tell him that she loved him. But she did none of those things, afraid that he would look at her with fear again. She wouldn't be able to handle that.

There was a soft knock on the door and Godric entered the room. He looked better now, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulder, and he smiled gently at Eric. Sookie looked to the blond vampire. He was just staring in disbelieve at his maker. After several seconds of silence, he said something in Swedish, and even though Sookie couldn't understand the words, the emotions in the voice told her everything. Godric replied in the same language, sitting down at the foot of the bed.

Feeling that she was intruding a very private moment between the vampires, Sookie once again rose to leave. Eric looked up at her and got that panicked look in his eyes again, but Godric said a few words in his mother tongue, and he seemed to calm down.

"I'll leave you two alone for awhile," Sookie said and quietly left the room. As soon as she'd closed the door and slumped down on one of the chairs at the small kitchen table, she gave up and let the tears fall from her eyes. A pitiful sob escaped her, and all the walls she'd put up crumbled. She fell into a trance of sobs, her whole body shaking violently as she buried her face in her hands. All her pushed back emotions just hit her full force, and she cried uncontrollably.

A pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around her, and she was pulled into a safe embrace. Faintly, she heard Vilda's voice mumble soothing nonsense, and she buried her face in the crook of her neck. It felt like a relieve to not be strong, and for a moment allow herself to feel every stormy emotion.

She wasn't sure for how long she cried, but it felt like the better part of an hour. When it felt like she had no tears left, she finally regained control of herself, and managed to stop crying. Vilda smiled encouragingly and reached her a tissue. Sookie accepted it with quite gratitude and wiped her tears off.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled and stared down at her hands, suddenly feeling ashamed. "I'm such a mess."

"Don't be sorry," Vilda said, "It's perfectly understandable to be a mess in this kind of situation."

"Eric woke up," Sookie said in an attempt to explain her emotional turmoil.

"That's good to hear," Vilda smiled in relieve. "Things are starting to look up." Sookie tried to feel as optimistic, and smiled as if to convince herself.

The door to Eric's bedroom was opened, and they both looked up. Godric entered the room and carefully closed the door behind him.

"How did it go?" the question sounded odd, but Sookie didn't know what else to say. Godric went to sit on one of the chairs.

"He is still not all…. there," he said. "I'm not sure what state his sanity is in right now."

"He was afraid of me." Sookie whispered and blinked away the infernal tears.

"I don't think he is afraid of _you,_" Godric said in a concerned voice, "He's afraid of being touched. Whatever Russell did, it severely damaged him. I've never seen him like this before." He was silent for a moment, lost in his mind, before quietly adding, "He needs time to heal. But he's strong. He'll pull through" It sounded like he was talking mostly to himself.

"Is he resting now?" Sookie wondered.

"Yes. But I think your presence calms him. You should go to him," Godric said and gave her shoulder an encouraging squeeze. Sookie nodded and made her way back to the bedroom.

Eric was lying in the same position she'd left him in, curled up as close to the wall as possible, but it still warmed her heart to see him. She silently walked up to the bed, and after a moment of hesitation, she sat down on the edge. The mattress dipped only an inch, but apparently, Eric's sleep wasn't too deep, for the slight movement caused him to stir and open his eyes. Sookie instantly made ready to jump off the bed, not to scare him, but this time, Eric didn't seem to be as afraid. His body tensed and he eyed her suspiciously for only a moment, before recognizing her. The faint smile that ghosted over his lips made Sookie's heart swell with happiness. _How could so little make her so happy? _He made a small nod to his side, gesturing for her to lie down on the bed. Carefully, she climbed into the bed and curled up on her side, still leaving a gap between their bodies. Eric seemed happy with the distance, and didn't make any indications of wanting her to come any closer. _Baby steps, _Sookie reminded herself, not to feel hurt, and settled on the mattress.

Eric frowned, "Don't cry," he mumbled, and Sookie quickly reached up to wipe away the tears she hadn't even realized she was spilling. God, she kept crying at odd times. _Can't you even hold it together for one minute?_

"Are you sad?"

"No," she said, her voice thick with tears, "It's just that… I've missed you. And I'm glad I got you back. I love you so much and-" she stopped herself, realizing what she'd just said. Her breathing got stuck in her throat as she nervously waited for Eric's reaction. For a moment, he did nothing, then, he smiled.

"I love you too," he whispered, before closing his eyes, his whole body relaxing. Sookie let her eye lids fall down, finally feeling at peace. The emotional rollercoaster had made her tired, and she could feel sleep taking hold of her.

"Sookie?" barely awake, she heard Eric mumble from somewhere far away.

"Yes baby?"

"I just needed to make sure you were still there."

She smiled then, her eyes still closed, before answering "I'm here, Eric. And I always will be." Cool fingers traced her forearm until it found her hand, and Eric wove their fingers together. Sookie smiled to herself and opened one eye, seeing that an almost serene expression had settled on Eric's face as he had fallen into a peaceful sleep. She tenderly caressed his hand with her thumb and let herself drift off, convinced that everything would be okay. They had each other, and that was all that mattered.

**It. Is. Finished. I cannot believe it.**

**Thank you, all of you, for alerting, reviewing and… favoriting (not a word, but you know what I've mean) Without your support, I never would have been able to finish this. And now, when it's done, I hope that as many as possible do review, on the chapter as well as the story over all. I know it's filled with questionable grammar, odd uses of words, and other mistakes, but hey, it's my first story, and I'm not a native speaker.**

**I have to take a break from writing for now. School is downright hell at the moment. But I have a sequel for this story in mind (we need to get Eric back on his feet, right?), as well as another story (slash lovers, get ready;)). Any suggestions, ideas and requests are more than welcomed!**

**Love you all:) **

**'till next time/ TrueInk**


	33. Sequel is up!

Hello folks! Just writing to tell you that the sequel, which is called Lost In Shadows, is posted, and hopefully will be available in a few hours! Excitement!


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